6 replies to this topic

[Steve04]

Hi,

 

Apologies if these questions has been asked before, but could someone advise me on the following BRC 7 requirements please-

 

Traceability

The guidance on the BRC 7 update says, "A supplier questionnaire will not be regarded as sufficient anymore." Does this mean that the only way to fulfill this requirement would be to undertake an onsite audit of your supplier in every case? 

 

Authenticity

The guidance on the BRC 7 update says, "A documented vulnerability assessment shall be carried out of all raw materials to assess the potential risk of adulteration and to prevent food fraud". Is there a standard format/ template for this vulnerability assessment and if there is one would anyone be kind enough to share theirs with me?

 

Many thanks for your time,

 

Regards

 

Stephen

 

 

[Charles.C]

Hi,

 

Apologies if these questions has been asked before, but could someone advise me on the following BRC 7 requirements please-

 

Traceability

The guidance on the BRC 7 update says, "A supplier questionnaire will not be regarded as sufficient anymore." Does this mean that the only way to fulfill this requirement would be to undertake an onsite audit of your supplier in every case? 

 

Authenticity

The guidance on the BRC 7 update says, "A documented vulnerability assessment shall be carried out of all raw materials to assess the potential risk of adulteration and to prevent food fraud". Is there a standard format/ template for this vulnerability assessment and if there is one would anyone be kind enough to share theirs with me?

 

Many thanks for your time,

 

Regards

 

Stephen

 

Hi Stephen,

 

I presume by "guidance" you are referring to the BRC Interpretation Guidelines (IG).

 

I can offer a few comments on yr second query.

 

First do note that the BRC-IG do not constitute auditable material, the Code does.So if you follow the IG suggestions to the letter it is unlikely (but perhaps not impossible) that yr actions will be faulted, but, equally, failure to do so does not mean that you will necessarily be automatically faulted.

 

There is no One standard template for VA however there is a specific, detailed, and IMO rather good, IG document which contains a BRC recommended approach but also mentions something like "a variety of approaches are acceptable". And indeed a variety of approaches exist and have been, seemingly BRC satifactorily,  employed (I assume you refer to clauses 3.5.1.1-(.2))

 

For some VA links see this post (there are many other threads also) -

 

http://www.ifsqn.com...rc/#entry111585

 

PS - Welcome to the Forum !

[Steve04]

Thanks Chris, much appreciated I will have a look at the links you have posted.

 

Regards

 

Stephen

[redfox]

Hello Stephen,

 

IMO, there is no standard template for VA. I have my own template which was presented during our BRC7 audit last year which auditor okayed. There are plenty of templates on the web which in my case is a collection of ideas from post on the web and other literature relating to fraudulent activity. 

 

Please see attachment, it may helps.

 

regards,

redfox

Attached Files

•  Vulnerability Assessment_ifsqn.xlsx   24.01KB   115 downloads

[Steve04]

Thanks Redfox much appreciated.

[mgourley]

As far as the traceability part, this is from the Guidance for BRC 7 Food:
 

If supplier approval is based solely on a questionnaire with no additional testing of the traceability system, additional traceability verification is required unless the raw material is a primary agricultural product purchased directly from a farm or fishery, where additional testing of the traceability systems is not mandatory. This verification could include, for example:

- A test of the raw material supplier’s traceability. For example, as part of the site’s traceability test (refer to clause 3.9.2) a relevant ingredient is highlighted. The ingredient and batch details for the material are forwarded to the supplier to enable them to complete the traceability test for the specific batch of raw materials and forward the relevant records back to the site.

- A worked example from the raw material supplier, which clearly shows how the traceability works.

- A detailed description of the traceability system, provided by the raw material supplier.

Information received during the traceability verification should be incorporated into the supplier approval process (clause 3.5.1.2).

Traceability verification is a requirement for each raw material supplier. Therefore, any traceability test (i.e. because the supplier approval is based solely on a questionnaire) should be designed to test the raw material supplier’s systems and not to trace every single material they produce. Where a site purchases multiple ingredients from the same raw material supplier, it is not a requirement to complete a traceability test for every single ingredient purchased, only to complete the traceability test for each supplier from which ingredients are purchased.

The frequency of the traceability verification should link to the supplier approval programme; that is, the traceability is verified on first approval of the supplier, and then at least every 3 years.

 

Marshall

[Steve04]

Thanks Marshall much appreciated,

 

Regards