Overview

Food Safety is developed by food industry experts from retailers, manufacturers and food service organisations to ensure it is rigorous and detailed, yet easy to understand.

First published in 1998, the Standard is now in its eighth issue and is well-established globally. It has evolved with input from many leading global specifiers.

It provides a framework to manage product safety, integrity, legality and quality, and the operational controls for these criteria in the food and food ingredient manufacturing, processing and packing industry.

Focuses On :

  • encouraging development of product safety culture;
  • expanding the requirements for environmental monitoring to reflect the increasing importance of this technique;
  • encouraging sites to further develop systems for security and food defence;
  • adding clarity to the requirements for high-risk, high-care and ambient high-care production risk zones;
  • providing greater clarity for sites manufacturing pet food; and
  • ensuring global applicability and bench-marking to the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI).

Divided into nine sections :

1. SENIOR MANAGEMENT COMMITMENT

Commitment at a senior level is essential in the development of a good food safety culture and is therefore necessary for any food safety system to be effective and to ensure the full application and continual development of these systems.

2. THE FOOD SAFETY PLAN – HACCP

Effective hazard and risk analysis enables the company to identify and manage those hazards that may pose a risk to the safety, quality and integrity of their products. The BRC Global Standard requires the development of an effective hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) programme based on the requirements of the internationally recognised Codex Alimentarius system.

3. FOOD SAFETY AND QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

This section ensures the company works to well-documented, systematic management systems that form the basis for the product and process controls necessary to produce safe products, meet customer expectations and ensure staff are trained.

4. SITE STANDARDS

This covers the suitability, cleanliness and control of the site and includes topics such as factory conditions, cleaning, equipment, pest control, foreign body controls and food defence/site security.

5. PRODUCT CONTROL

Establishing product controls such as allergen management, the prevention of food fraud and product testing are important in the reliable delivery of safe, authentic products.

6. PROCESS CONTROL

These requirements ensure that the documented HACCP plan is put into operation on a daily basis, together with effective procedures to consistently manufacture the product to the correct quality.

7. PERSONNEL

Training, protective clothing and hygiene practices are covered in this section.

8. HIGH-RISK, HIGH-CARE AND AMBIENT HIGH-CARE PRODUCTION RISK ZONES

A specific section of the Standard dealing with products that are susceptible to potential pathogen contamination and therefore need additional controls to ensure product safety.

9. REQUIREMENTS FOR TRADED PRODUCTS

A voluntary additional section of the Standard for sites that purchase and sell food products that would normally fall within the scope of the Standard and are stored at the site’s facilities, but which are not manufactured, further processed or packed at the site being audited.

Benefits

Customer Confidence :

  • Protects your brand and consumer.
  • Ensures your customers maintain confidence in your food safety programme and supply chain management.
  • Accepted and specified by many retailers, manufacturers, ingredients companies, food service organisations and raw material processors worldwide as part of their supplier approval process.
  • The first Standard to be GFSI-benchmarked.
  • The first Standard to define food fraud.
  • The only Standard to offer a food safety culture assessment.
  • Use certification as a marketing tool by displaying our logo on your publicity materials, stationery and website.

Achievable And Cost-Effective :

  • Written by experts and now in its eighth issue.
  • Designed to reflect best practice and provide a common sense, risk-based approach to product safety and certification.
  • Offers audit options including announced or unannounced audits.
  • There is a straightforward certification process which means there are no hidden costs. If your business is prepared and confident about food safety, the only cost will be that of the audit, which is charged at a local rate.
  • Reduce waste, complaints, recalls and rejected products.
  • Global recognition of the Standard by customers and the portable nature of the product with additional modules reduce audit burden.

Highly-Trained Auditors Worldwide :

  • Audits carried out by a global network of trained and experienced certification bodies.
  • We set exceptionally high standards when it comes to the competence, qualifications and experience of our auditors.
  • The first scheme to implement auditor category exams.
  • The audit standards and certification process is stringently maintained and consistent worldwide.