BRC non-conformities from audits

Hello everyone!

Can you share some examples of non-conformities received from a BRC audit? Just want to get an idea of some things they look for.

Thanks!

Hi WowQC,

At a BRC conference last year the following list of top 10 non-conformance's were presented:

http://www.ifsqn.com...audit-tomorrow/

I posted the NC's we picked up in our audit 2 weeks ago

Pest control, check the book make sure all actions are done and signed off and correct number of visits made over the past 12 months and you have all up to date documents in there such as certificates and specifications.  Get the pest controller in to review it for you a week or two before.

Documention and records, there are many of them and many people involved, so there will always be th eodd gap.  Minimize this by giving the 'heads up' to everyone to check and be perfect. 

Regards,

Simon

I would say Foreign Bodies! Make sure there's nothing where it shouldn't be. That the right colours are in the right place , that hoppers and tote bins are covered (and labelled), tool boxes are spotless, minimise cardboard in production areas and have all of your validation work to hand . Oh, and the git your always chasing about his/ her PPE make sure their wearing it, with no "modifications" correctly!

Caz x

At the recent BRC Americas conference the following was presented based upon a study of ALL audits in 2012: (General category followed by top three in that category, if they were available)

Ranking of areas for improvement

1. HACCP

     a) 2.5.1 Process flow diagram

     b) 2.7.1 Identification of potential hazards

     c) 2.7.2 Documented hazard analysis

** 52% of all sites audited had an issue with HACCP

2. Building Fabric

     a) 4.4.9 Doors

     b) 4.4.5 Ceilings and overheads

     c) 4.4.1 Walls

3. Pest Control

4. Housekeeping and Hygiene

     a) 4.11.1 Documented cleaning procedures

     b) 4.11.5 cleaning equipment

     c) 4.11.4 Cleaning checks

5. Management Commitment

     a) 1.1.2 Defined objectives

     b) 1.1.4 Food safety in management meetings

     c) 1.1.3 Management review

6. Maintenance

     a) 4.7.4 Cleaning following maintenance

     b) 4.7.1 Maintenance schedule

     c) 4.7.3 Control of temporary repairs

7. Staff Facilities

8. Traceability

9. Internal Audit

10. Glass, Plastics and Ceramics

Marshall

Thanks for the list mgourley. Nice and short! ;)

Hi jpredmore,

Do you mean the refrigerator in the staff room? We don't have any refrigeration in our production.

Thanks.

Hi jpredmore,

Do you mean the refrigerator in the staff room? We don't have any refrigeration in our production.

Thanks.

Makes sense I guess, but they should mention it in their Standard then :glare:

Thanks for the info.

They do... clause 4.8.9 all food brought in to manufacturing premises by staff shall be appropriately stored in clean hygienic state.

Suitable storage facilities shall be provided for food brought onto the site by staff, enabling it to be stored in a hygienic manner. In countries, states or territories where fridges in the home are the norm, they would be expected to be provided in the workplace, kept clean, maintained and operated at an appropriate temperature.

Or so the Interpretation Guide says. I don't see where it says the appropriate temperature needs to be monitored and/or documented. 

Has anyone actually been asked for monitoring records of staff refrigerator/vending machine temperatures?

Marshall

Yes, I've had to produce records.

I've also had auditors wanting to inspect lockers in production areas to ensure there are no cups or food stored there.

Caz x

I can see asking to see lockers, since that is specifically mentioned in the standard. I don't, however see "specifically" where the standard says that refrigerators or vending machines in staff areas need to be monotored for temperatures.

4.8.9 appropriate storage of food. 

How can you prove that the fridge is cold enough unless you record the temperature?

Caz x

One would assume that if the fridge were a couple of degrees off, eating food stored in there would not immediately cause staff to go into bouts of expelling um, stuff, 

All I am saying is that if BRC requires records of staff refrigerator temperatures.. they should say so.

Appropriate storage of chicken adobo, in the Phillipines, means you can leave it out on the counter for a day or two, given the soy and vinegar used to cook it.

In fact, it tastes better after a day.

marshall

Just to be contrarian...If BRC requires staff refrigerator temps to be taken, what is the frequency? There is none..so if you do it once a day or once a year, that seems to meet the intent of the clause. So what exactly, is the intent of the clause? I certainly do not see one.

Marshall

Considering that in BRC Issue 8 this is now 4.8.7, I'll resurrect this old thread.

To address mgourley's standing question on frequency of sampling, I would offer that the best frequency would be to argue "a frequency that ensures the spirit of the clause has been satisfied" … whatever frequency you believe you can defend.  I hesitate to say "based on risk" because although BRC is famous for that quote, it begs the question why they didn't choose to add it.  This requirement seems to be over and above any regulatory guideline.

I don't necessarily agree that just because the vessel is maintained at a temperature of 36 degrees Fahrenheit (or whatever temp), that it's hygienic.  It seems to me that biological testing is going to be the route that's going to prove how clean is clean.  

Thoughts?

It is an old thread. 

The only thing I can add is that in the last 5 years I have done 12 BRC audits. (Multiple locations)

The number of times the auditors have asked for records of break room refrigerators and/or vending machine temperatures? 

Zero.

If somehow some auditor did ask for them, I'd just say we don't do that and take the minor if the auditor wanted to be an ass.

We don't have the time or the manpower to go around recording internal temperatures of refrigerated boxes in employee facilities. Regardless whether it's daily or monthly. 

If a refrigerator goes bad, the employees are going to say something. If the frozen items in the vending machine are now liquid, it's pretty obvious something is wrong, and an employee would have said something about it earlier.

Marshall

It is an old thread. 

The only thing I can add is that in the last 5 years I have done 12 BRC audits. (Multiple locations)

 

The number of times the auditors have asked for records of break room refrigerators and/or vending machine temperatures? 

 

Zero.

FWIW I've had BRC auditors ask for this quite a few times, probably one audit in every two or three. Maybe it's more popular in the UK, but it always comes across as one of those easy areas to find a NC if they really want to... 

We do a basic daily check, although never challenged on calibration for the equipment used for this.