The file set
Seven documents, and what each one actually proves.
A supplier who sends everything at once is usually sending what is easy. This is the list a QA team should be able to reconcile line by line, with the point in the process where each document is due.
| Document | Issued by | What it establishes | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Declaration of conformity | Supplier | That the material meets the food-contact rules it is sold under | With quotation |
| Migration test report | Accredited laboratory | Overall and specific migration against the applicable limit | With quotation |
| Composition statement | Supplier | Base paper, coating type and any additive, by percentage | Before order |
| flustix certificate | flustix / certification body | Measured plastic content of the certified product | With quotation |
| Heavy metals test | Accredited laboratory | Element limits in the finished material | With quotation |
| Compostability certificate | Certification body | EN 13432 conformity, product and thickness specific | Per project |
| Fibre origin statement | Mill / supplier | Country of harvest and chain of custody for EUDR | Per project |
What we do not hand over. Documents issued to a different legal entity, test
reports without a sample description, certificates that name a product we do not make, and
anything with the validity date cropped out. If a file cannot be traced to the product in
your order, it is not evidence — it is decoration.
How to read a document set
Four checks that catch most of the problems before a buyer does.
01
Same entity?
The certificate holder, the invoice issuer and the shipper must relate to each other in a way you can explain in one sentence.
02
Same product?
Certification is product-specific. A certificate for a 280 ml single-wall cup does not cover a 500 ml double-wall cup.
03
In date?
Validity dates are on the certificate for a reason. Expired certificates are the most common finding in supplier audits.
04
Complete?
Every page, every annex, the certification body's mark and the laboratory's accreditation number.
Ask for the file before you ask for the price
Send us the product form and the market. We will reply with the documents that exist today for that product, and be explicit about the ones that do not.