BRC Global Standard for Food Safety Issue 7: Audits Have Started
Audits against Issue 7 of the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety began in July 2015. The new issue puts more weight on supplier management, labelling control and food fraud.
Key points
- Issue 7 was published in January 2015 and audits against it started on 1 July 2015.
- Sites must now assess the vulnerability of their raw materials to food fraud.
- Labelling and packing controls were strengthened to reduce the most common cause of recalls.
Why a new issue
Each new issue of the standard reflects what went wrong in the industry in the years before it. Issue 7 responds to food fraud incidents and to the number of recalls caused by labelling and packing errors.
What changed
- A documented vulnerability assessment of raw materials for adulteration and substitution
- Stronger supplier approval and traceability through the supply chain
- Tighter control of labels, line changeovers and packing
- More fundamental requirements, where a major nonconformity prevents certification
Preparing the site
Review your raw material risk assessment so that it covers fraud as well as safety, check how label changes are approved and verified at the line, and brief production supervisors: the audit spends more time in the production area than in the office.