Terms & Conditions

Updated October 2022

Following recent legislative changes, we felt it was a good time to update our terms and conditions. Being traders, and not manufacturers, our role is service based which is reflected in our Terms and Conditions.

Barnes Williams realise that your individual due diligence processes can only be based on a risk assessment of the whole supply chain, this forward is to remind our clients of our role within the food industry, and reflects a balance of risk vs. client cost expectation. Our interventions are limited, such as replacing labels at a customer request, and please note we are unable to offer the facilities to repack, or check products for foreign body contamination.

Our suppliers are audited by BW or other accredited auditors based on risk assessment, to ensure their product safety systems meet our high standards. We sample those products not supplied with certificates of analysis using the accepted sampling regime of the square route plus one of the number of tonnes within a container. These samples are sent for analyses to an appropriate UKAS accredited laboratory. Composite samples can also be tested for moisture and TVC’s to ensure that they comply with clients’ specifications. Some products such as those which are liquids, spray and freeze dried, heat-treated herbs, spices, pastes and purees are NOT sampled.

As a minimum once a year following risk assessment, random samples are drawn for testing for contaminants such as heavy metals, banned colours, pesticides etc; as appropriate to product type. The only time we diverge from this testing regime is for exceptions such as “at risk items” e.g. chilies and paprika, which are appropriately tested prior to release, or are analysed to verify an anomalous test result.

With the above processes, we believe we are able to demonstrate a level of due diligence on which our customers can assess their own safety system requirements based on further product processing. 

Please ensure you have read, understood and agreed to these T&Cs, and also thoroughly assessed our specifications before placing orders with us.

Thanks in advance and please feel free to contact any of the team at Barnes Williams with any questions.

Nick Barnes
Managing Director

Download our latest terms and conditions