An Essential Approach To Improve Your BRC Food Standard Audits?

In the food sector, customers' safety comes first, as well as that of the businesses that produce or prepare the food. Manufacturers, merchants, and suppliers must uphold the highest safety requirements with accurate audit planning if they want to create high-quality and safe items. The industry has made considerable advancements in food safety thanks to modern technologies, digitisation, and scientific discoveries. Several obstacles still exist, though.

In 1992, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) was established to help the food industry adapt to these developments and adhere to UK and EU food safety laws. At that time, the BRC Global Standards (BRCGS) became a recognised resource for programs that set safety and quality criteria.

What Criteria Does BRCGS Use?

A well-known program for certifying the safety and quality of food products is called BRC Global Standards. The British Retail Consortium, a trade body representing the UK retail industry, created the standards.

In 2016, the LGC group purchased the BRC standards. With over 30,000 accredited sites in more than 130 countries, The BRC Global Standards has established itself as a well-known and acknowledged food safety certification organisation.

Food safety management systems, product safety, packaging, storage, and distribution are just a few of the topics that BRC Standards cover. In 2019, BRCGS (Brand Reputation through Compliance of Global Standards) replaced the British Retail Consortium (BRC) as the organisation's name.

 Updates are made regularly to keep the standards current and valuable. The most recent version of the BRC's auditing code, Issue 9, was available. On February 1st, 2023, audits in conformity with it started after it was issued on August 1st, 2022. It is broken into nine sections corresponding to the BRC certification requirements.

Global BRCGS Standard For Food Safety

•         The dedication of senior management

•         HACCP, or the food safety plan

•         System for Managing Food Safety and Quality

•        The Site Standards

•        Quality Assurance

•        Process supervision

•        Personnel

•        Zones with high risks, high standards of care, and ambient high standards of production

•        The Need for Traded Goods

BRC Standards Adoption

By establishing strict guidelines, lowering the possibility of food safety events, and guaranteeing that certified facilities adhere to them, the BRC program has improved the quality and safety of food items. The industry-wide standard for food safety has been raised due to the BRC certification requirement for many retailers and suppliers. Also, in the event of a food safety incident, certified locations must have a recall strategy in place, which helps lessen the impact on customers.

You should implement the BRC Standards for the following primary reasons:

Compliance: Implementing BRC Standards enables businesses to abide by the legal and regulatory standards about food safety.

Competitive Advantage: BRC accreditation help firms stand out from the competition by showcasing their dedication to high standards of food safety and quality.

Improved Reputation: BRC accreditation can help firms gain a better reputation by proving that they adhere to the strictest safety and quality standards.

Reduced Risk: Organisations can lessen the likelihood of food safety accidents, which can cost a lot of money in recalls, legal action, and reputational harm, by adopting BRC Standards.

How To Prepare For A BRC Audit?

A BRC audit assesses a business' adherence to the BRC Global Standards. It is an unbiased evaluation of the organisation's processes, procedures, and food safety management system.

An audit entails thoroughly examining a company's facilities, manufacturing processes, records, documentation, and quality control systems by an accredited third-party agency.

Since that BRC audits are developed per risk, the level of examination relies on the level of threat posed by the certified site. It must be renewed every six or twelve months to maintain BRC certification, depending on the degree of qualification attained. BRC audits include the following essential elements:

1. Documentation Review: This entails examining the paperwork of the certified site, including its policies, processes, and records, to ensure that it complies with BRC Standards.

2. Site Inspection: This involves reviewing the certified site to ensure it is safe, clean, and hygienic.

3. Staff Interviews: Interview staff members to check their knowledge of and compliance with BRC Standards.

4. Product testing entails examining products to see whether they adhere to BRC Standards.

Types of BRC Audit

Below are the BRC audits that occur most frequently:

1.     BRC Complete Audit: This audit is thorough and covers every facet of the BRC criteria. This audit occurs yearly to ensure certified sites keep their BRC standards.

2.     Unannounced Audit: This audit is undertaken immediately without warning to ensure certified sites comply with BRC standards.

3.     Issue Specific Audit: This audit examines a specific problem, such as a food safety event or compliance.

The Best Way To Get Ready For Your BRC Certification Through Routine Internal Audits

You must regularly self-assess your organisation's compliance with the food safety and quality requirements for BRC certification. Compared to conventional paper-based checklists, using a site auditing app for internal audits has several advantages. By streamlining your inspections with UrAudits, you can guarantee the highest standards every day, without the paperwork or additional administrative effort.

UrAudits lets too increase auditor efficiency and effectiveness for digital BRC audits. UrAudits work flawlessly on all electronic devices, including laptops, tablets, and smartphones (iOS or Android), saving time and lowering the possibility of mistakes and inconsistencies.

"Invest time in what matters. We can now spend 95% of our time coaching the team and observing the floor thanks to UrAudits rather than filling out paperwork and writing reports. We could see trends and problems by looking at historical data without having to search for and compare earlier reports, according to Jason Hunt, one of UrAudits' top clients.

Via UrAudits, you can increase the transparency and accountability for digital inspections. A digital report that includes the results, photographs, and comments is created instantly. With the team and management more easily in reach, auditors can provide real-time information.

Ensuring that all stakeholders have access to the same information can increase trust and confidence in the auditing process.

Conclusion

Connect with UrAudits, the top site auditing app, for accurate audit planning. Whether a large enterprise or SME, you can execute a centralised management structure under the UrAudits roof. Get the online marketing audit template for a demo and satisfy yourself with UrAudits' excellent inspection and auditing features.