Sunflower Oil Supplier Audit Checklist: 20 Questions Before You Sign
How to use this
Work through these before you sign, not after a cargo is loaded. Most can be answered in writing in a single exchange, and a supplier’s willingness to answer is itself part of the result.
The company and the contract
- What is the full legal name of the entity that will be named as seller, and in which country is it registered?
- Does the person negotiating have authority to bind that entity?
- Who holds title to the goods at the moment of loading — you, or a third party you are buying from?
- Is the oil produced by the seller, or purchased and resold?
- Which bank account will receive payment, and is it in the same legal name and jurisdiction as the seller?
Product and specification
- Which grade is being offered — refined (RBD) or crude — and against which standard?
- Which parameters will be stated on the certificate of analysis, and what limits are being contracted to?
- Which laboratory issues the certificate of analysis, and is it independent of the seller?
- If a consignment falls outside the contracted limits, what is the remedy and who bears the cost?
- Can non-GMO be supplied if the destination market requires it, and how is it evidenced?
Certification and compliance
- Which food safety certifications does the producer hold, with certificate numbers and expiry dates?
- Can copies be supplied directly from the issuing body rather than as a scan?
- Which additional certifications does my destination market require, and who obtains them?
- Who is responsible for the phytosanitary certificate and the health certificate where applicable?
Logistics and packing
- Which packing formats are available — flexitank, ISO tank, 190 kg drum, IBC, PET — and which suits my volume and port?
- What is the lead time from order confirmation to loading?
- Which Incoterm is being quoted, and exactly where does risk transfer?
- May I appoint an independent inspector at loading, at my cost?
Commercial terms
- What payment terms are offered for a first order, and what changes after a track record?
- Is the price fixed for the contract period, or does it float against a reference, and if so which one?
What a good answer looks like
The useful signal is not that every answer is the one you hoped for. It is that the answers are specific, consistent across the conversation, and offered without being chased three times.
Vagueness clusters. A supplier evasive about who is named as seller is usually also vague about which laboratory issues the certificate of analysis, and that pattern is more informative than any single reply.
Our answers
We manufacture refined and crude sunflower oil in Ukraine and sell direct, so the seller named on the contract is the producer and the certificate of analysis is issued against our own consignment. We operate to HACCP and ISO 22000, with non-GMO grades available on request, and independent inspection at loading can be arranged on request at the buyer’s cost.
We quote FOB or CIF to a named port under Incoterms 2020, with payment by bank transfer in EUR or USD, and orders typically ship within 7 to 14 days of confirmation. A certificate of analysis and a certificate of origin travel with every consignment.
Send your grade, volume, packing format and destination port for a quotation. Contact us, or read how to vet a supplier.