How to conduct a vulnerability risk assessment?

Help please.  I need to send corrective actions for BRC audit, and have until end of today to finalise.  Auditor not happy with actions sent.  Does anyone have the  BRC  document available on how to conduct a vulnerability risk assessment (think you can obtain it from BRC participate) to share with me , big please!

Regards

Sharon 

Help please.  I need to send corrective actions for BRC audit, and have until end of today to finalise.  Auditor not happy with actions sent.  Does anyone have the  BRC  document available on how to conduct a vulnerability risk assessment (think you can obtain it from BRC participate) to share with me , big please!

 

 

Regards

 

Sharon 

Hi Sharon,

afaik, the document you mention is copyrighted.

There are 10-20 threads here on this topic, eg -

http://www.ifsqn.com...al/#entry101625

If you join BRC participate you can download it for free. BRC participate costs £95 stg.

I would share the vulnerability assessment with you but as Charles says it's copyrighted. 

What I can do though is share the template I used  for my client.

Work your way through your process from intake to dispatch and include packaging and you should be ok.

By the way.... this is not my own work I got this from someone else so I take no credit whatsoever.

If you join BRC participate you can download it for free. BRC participate costs £95 stg.

 

I would share the vulnerability assessment with you but as Charles says it's copyrighted. 

What I can do though is share the template I used  for my client.

 

Work your way through your process from intake to dispatch and include packaging and you should be ok.

HI trubertq,

I would have thoight you'd be alright without the packaging.

Unless you enjoy doing VA's of course.

Thks for the VA althought it's a bit "skeletal".

The content would not be relevant to anyone apart from my client Charles.... there are some things I can't share!!

I was asked had I included packaging in my VA and on the the advice of a good friend I had included it. It impressed the auditor that we had been this thorough and for a small enough amount of work. 

She also asked about Radiation as part of our HACCP hazard analysis....

We got an AA by the way.

The content would not be relevant to anyone apart from my client Charles.... there are some things I can't share!!

 

I was asked had I included packaging in my VA and on the the advice of a good friend I had included it. It impressed the auditor that we had been this thorough and for a small enough amount of work. 

 

She also asked about Radiation as part of our HACCP hazard analysis....

 

 

We got an AA by the way.

hi Trubertq,

Sorry, maybe my post was unclear.

I meant that i had a difficulty working out which part was relevant to a BRC-VA.

Clause 3.5.1.1 states: 

 

Clause 3.5.1.1 states: 

The company shall undertake a documented risk assessment of each raw material or group of raw materials including packaging to identify potential risks to product safety, legality and quality. This shall take into account the potential for:

•allergen contamination

•foreign-body risks

•microbiological contamination

•chemical contamination

•substitution or fraud (see clause 5.4.2).

Consideration shall also be given to the significance of a raw material to the quality of the final product.

The risk assessment shall form the basis for the raw material acceptance and testing procedure and for the processes adopted for supplier approval and monitoring. The risk assessments shall be reviewed at least annually.

This is important with respect to close contact packaging.

Maybe this will make the assessment a bit clearer.

I am not suggesting that this is the only/correct way of pursuing a vulnerability assessment , this is the way I chose to do it and it passed an audit this year.

Hi Trubertq,

Thks for the attachment.

5.4.2 A documented vulnerability assessment shall be carried out on all food raw materials or groups of raw
materials to assess the potential risk of adulteration or substitution. This shall take into account:
•  historical evidence of substitution or adulteration
•  economic factors which may make adulteration or substitution more attractive
•  ease of access to raw materials through the supply chain
•  sophistication of routine testing to identify adulterants
•  nature of the raw material.
The vulnerability assessment shall be kept under review to reflect changing economic circumstances
and market intelligence which may alter the potential risk. It shall be formally reviewed annually.

Are the above 5 bullets responded to by a Y/N in the cells under the 5 Qs ?

Hi trubertq,

I just realized that CCFRA = Campden. :doh:

Perhaps the methodology is that of Campden Publication No.72 on TACCP which was linked-reviewed earlier in this forum.

Thanks anyway.

PS - i do agree with you that there are surely a variety of ways to do a VA food raw material which will be acceptable to BRC. One reason IMO is  that a variety of terminologies are in use for the same objective. What turns up is a bit like a ball in a roulette wheel.

Seems to me it would be easier if BRC simply stuck with the GFSI interpretations.