What is BRC?

BRC

The BRC Global Standard for Food Safety is a system developed by a collective of food industry participants looking to raise the bar for overall food safety and standards. Retailers, manufacturers and food service organizations alike all had a hand in comprising a detailed system for maintaining food safety standards that is easy to understand.

The system was originally recognized and published back in 1998. In the past twenty years, the Standard is now in its seventh issue and has earned global recognition as a reliable and efficient authority on food safety. The BRC has also grown with the times, evolving to accommodate contributions from various leading global specifiers.

3rd Party Audit is required

he BRC is essentially a process certification standard designed to instill industry best practices in companies involved in the manufacturing, processing and packing of food items. To receive certification in the eyes of the BRC Standard, a third-party audit must be conducted by an accredited affiliate. The BRC has a specific model for rating certification bodies. In general, certification bodies are rated for their performance and efficiency in customer service.

Key elements

The BRC Global Standard puts emphasis on a few key elements when it comes to food safety management.

(Courtesy of BRCGlobalStandards.com)

• The importance of management commitment.
• Hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) based food safety programs.
• Quality management systems.
• Auditing good manufacturing processes – it's not just a paperwork audit.
• Auditing areas which often have the highest rate of product recalls and withdrawals, such as labelling and packing.
• Developing systems to reduce exposure to food fraud.
• Ensuring consistency of the audit process.
• Providing a BRC Global Standard that is portable enough to allow Additional Modules to be added to reduce audit burden.
• Promoting greater resilience, transparency and traceability in the supply chain.

BRC divided into 7 sections

With these main objectives established, the BRC Global Standard can be divided into seven sections of operation.

1. Senior Management Commitment and Continual Improvement

For a company to adhere to regulations regarding food safety, the management must first take the responsibility of instilling these best practices throughout the company.

2. The Food Safety Plan

The BRC Global Standard insists on establishing an effective hazard analysis and critical control point program or HACCP.

3. Food Safety and Quality Management System

This section is intended to apply the requirements for the management of food safety and quality for product specifications, supplier approval, traceability, etc.

4. Product Control

This is intended for product design and development, operations such as allergen management, product and ingredient provenance, product packaging and product inspection and testing.

5. Personnel

This section lays out the standards intended for staff training, protective attire and personal hygiene.

6. Process Control

This part of the process establishes and provides maintenance for safe process controls, weight/volume control and equipment calibration and ensures the documented HACCP plan is put into practice.

7. Site Standards

This section of BRC establishes expectations for the production environment. Keeping up with building and equipment maintenance, cleaning, pest control and waste management.

How to set it up?

Companies looking to earn validation from the BRC Global Standard would do well to integrate a sound ERP solution that can account for all their processes. With a food-specific cloud ERP solution like iNECTA Food, iNECTA Seafood and iNECTA Produce, companies can keep track of their daily processes and ensure they are meeting the guidelines offered by the BRC, as well as other food safety compliance and regulatory bodies. With iNECTA, you have a bird’s-eye view of your business, and can streamline processes while complying with the BRC’s guidelines.