8 replies to this topic

[Goodgoing]

Hello awesome people of IFSQN,

 

can someone please offer the explanation to BRC Food Safety Clause 2.3.2-''All relevant information needed to conduct hazard analysis shall be collected, maintained, documented & updated...........................as a guide this may include'

 

• The latest scientific literature?  -  I am not very sure about this one. Should we have some relevant latest scientific books/ journals written about microorganism in food on site? Any relevant microbiological reference material etc. Maybe something about cooking, cleaning etc.

 

• Historical & known hazards related with specific food products? - For a confectionery company, this might be allergens present in raw material i.e. peanuts, wheat, milk, soy, tree nuts, Handling of flavours etc-(Flavours in their pure form are very toxic and flammable)

           

• Relevant codes of practice?- This will be a copy of Food Standards Australia & New Zealand.

 

• Recognised guidelines? Food legislation in New Zealand, Codex Alimentarius, MPI- Ministry of Primary Industries NZ Food safety guidelines.

 

• Food safety legislation relevant to the production  & sale of products?-  Food legislation in New Zealand, Food Standards Australia & New Zealand.

 

• Customer Requirments? - Do these requirements have to be in written form?

 

We are a confectionery company in New Zealand making candies, fudges, nougats, paste products and jersey caramels. 

 

Sorry for the long post.I have just started working in the food business and I have been given the task of putting BRC food Safety programme together    I am sincerely thankful to everybody for their help 

 

Many Thanks!

 

[FurFarmandFork]

Not a BRC guy, but here would be my recommendations:

 

 

 

• The latest scientific literature?  -  You should already have a person responsible for keeping up with developments in your industry with regard to equipment, processing, and threats. Make sure this is taken into account during your HACCP review and keep a record of it somehow. See similar thread: http://www.ifsqn.com...l-developments/

 

• Historical & known hazards related with specific food products? - Basically, the products you make have been associated with historical recalls and/or outbreaks. What are the most common reasons for those and are they represented in your hazard analysis? See keeping up to date on industry above.

           

• Relevant codes of practice?- Any industry standards (e.g. some foods have a trade organization with model codes of practice)

 

• Recognised guidelines? Food legislation in New Zealand, Codex Alimentarius, MPI- Ministry of Primary Industries NZ Food safety guidelines. Potentially codes of practice as noted above. Maybe what other countries do in areas that NZ hasn't codified yet (e.g. japan safe allergen levels). CODEX

 

• Food safety legislation relevant to the production  & sale of products?-  obvious.

 

• Customer Requirements? - It depends. Generally you should have a finished good specification that customers agreed to, if they have additional requirements they should have provided them to you in writing at some point anyway.

 

No one is saying written records of all this stuff needs to be on hand, but your written records of HACCP review should include how you reviewed these materials for changes/new information.

[Charles.C]

Hi Goodgoing,

 

May i ask if -

 

(a) you already have haccp plans for the confectionary products you have earlier mentioned ?

(b) you are familiar with Codex HACCP ? If not, you will probably need to acquire some specific haccp technical backup, eg courses, to complete BRC Section 2.

(c) you have specifications for yr products ?. This would be relevant to "customer's requirements"

 

As Tony noted in yr previous thread, basically BRC in Section 2 are repeating/expanding  the HACCP 101 requirements as laid out in the Codex HACCP document.

 

I enclose (hopefully still current) an official NZ HACCP plan for various meat products based on Codex Haccp. If current, this should illustrate the latest NZ "scientific literature" as appropriate to the meat category together with many typical responses to the HACCP "intro" as being queried in clauses 2.3.1 and 2.3.2. Hopefully equivalent info is also available (somewhere) for (NZ) "confectionary". If not you will need to do some literature research, unless perhaps you have an implemented haccp plan already containing such data ?.

 

The hazard analysis layout in NZ meat example is IMO rather nice except that its Codex-type queries seem incomplete (only 2 Queries).

 

 NZ HACCP Presentation for Processed Meats,2012.pdf   880.01KB   122 downloads

[Tony-C]

Hi Goodgoing,

 

To add to the previous posts.

 

BRC Guidance offers the following for Sources of information:
Up-to-date background information must be taken into account when preparing the HACCP plan. Therefore, suitable information must be collated and maintained.

There are many sources of information, particularly on the internet; for example, Codex Alimentarius, European Food Safety Authority, US Food and Drug Administration or the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF). Sources of information must be referenced in the HACCP plan and be recoverable/ available on request (using an internet search engine to find the information during an audit is not acceptable, as this implies that the information was not collected and maintained for use during the HACCP plan development). A list of legislation and codes of practice referenced may be helpful. Many membership organisations provide useful information. Where membership information is referenced, this also needs to be available on site (either electronically or in hard copy). The Standard gives some guidance on the types of information that may be considered in developing the HACCP plan.

 

For food safety legislation if you export then you will need to consider legislation in destination countries as well.
For historical and known hazards associated with specific food products good practice is to be as specific as possible, giving, for example, the name of the micro-organism(s) that are known hazards to the product, rather than just listing ‘bacteria’

 

Kind regards,

 

Tony

[Goodgoing]

Hi Goodgoing,

 

May i ask if -

 

(a) you already have haccp plans for the confectionary products you have earlier mentioned ?

(b) you are familiar with Codex HACCP ? If not, you will probably need to acquire some specific haccp technical backup, eg courses, to complete BRC Section 2.

(c) you have specifications for yr products ?. This would be relevant to "customer's requirements"

 

As Tony noted in yr previous thread, basically BRC in Section 2 are repeating/expanding  the HACCP 101 requirements as laid out in the Codex HACCP document.

 

I enclose (hopefully still current) an official NZ HACCP plan for various meat products based on Codex Haccp. If current, this should illustrate the latest NZ "scientific literature" as appropriate to the meat category together with many typical responses to the HACCP "intro" as being queried in clauses 2.3.1 and 2.3.2. Hopefully equivalent info is also available (somewhere) for (NZ) "confectionary". If not you will need to do some literature research, unless perhaps you have an implemented haccp plan already containing such data ?.

 

The hazard analysis layout in NZ meat example is IMO rather nice except that its Codex-type queries seem incomplete (only 2 Queries).

 

NZ HACCP Presentation for Processed Meats,2012.pdf

Hello Charles,

Thanks for the useful in-depth info.

You guys are awesome! 

[Goodgoing]

 

Hi Goodgoing,

 

To add to the previous posts.

 

BRC Guidance offers the following for Sources of information:
Up-to-date background information must be taken into account when preparing the HACCP plan. Therefore, suitable information must be collated and maintained.

There are many sources of information, particularly on the internet; for example, Codex Alimentarius, European Food Safety Authority, US Food and Drug Administration or the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF). Sources of information must be referenced in the HACCP plan and be recoverable/ available on request (using an internet search engine to find the information during an audit is not acceptable, as this implies that the information was not collected and maintained for use during the HACCP plan development). A list of legislation and codes of practice referenced may be helpful. Many membership organisations provide useful information. Where membership information is referenced, this also needs to be available on site (either electronically or in hard copy). The Standard gives some guidance on the types of information that may be considered in developing the HACCP plan.

 

For food safety legislation if you export then you will need to consider legislation in destination countries as well.
For historical and known hazards associated with specific food products good practice is to be as specific as possible, giving, for example, the name of the micro-organism(s) that are known hazards to the product, rather than just listing ‘bacteria’

 

Kind regards,

 

Tony

 

Hello Tony :)

 

I am so glad I found this forum and helpful people like you  Your input is very valuable and I sincerely appreciate it. 

Thanks 

 

Kind Regards 

Mandy

[Goodgoing]

Not a BRC guy, but here would be my recommendations:

 

 

 

• The latest scientific literature?  -  You should already have a person responsible for keeping up with developments in your industry with regard to equipment, processing, and threats. Make sure this is taken into account during your HACCP review and keep a record of it somehow. See similar thread: http://www.ifsqn.com...l-developments/

 

• Historical & known hazards related with specific food products? - Basically, the products you make have been associated with historical recalls and/or outbreaks. What are the most common reasons for those and are they represented in your hazard analysis? See keeping up to date on industry above.

           

• Relevant codes of practice?- Any industry standards (e.g. some foods have a trade organization with model codes of practice)

 

• Recognised guidelines? Food legislation in New Zealand, Codex Alimentarius, MPI- Ministry of Primary Industries NZ Food safety guidelines. Potentially codes of practice as noted above. Maybe what other countries do in areas that NZ hasn't codified yet (e.g. japan safe allergen levels). CODEX

 

• Food safety legislation relevant to the production  & sale of products?-  obvious.

 

• Customer Requirements? - It depends. Generally you should have a finished good specification that customers agreed to, if they have additional requirements they should have provided them to you in writing at some point anyway.

 

No one is saying written records of all this stuff needs to be on hand, but your written records of HACCP review should include how you reviewed these materials for changes/new information.

Hello Fur, Farm & Fork 

 

Thanks for your valuable input. I will definitely consider your recommendations    

 

Kind Regards

Mandy :)

[Charles.C]

Hi Mandy,

 

Thanks for yr responses but you seem to have not answered any of the queries ?

 

I would reiterate point (b) of Post 3.

 

If yr answer is No, this IMO is a good time to test whether yr Company has serious Commitment to Food Safety, an aspect which is invariably critical to attaining BRC Certification.

[Goodgoing]

Hi Mandy,

 

Thanks for yr responses but you seem to have not answered any of the queries ?

 

I would reiterate point (b) of Post 3.

 

If yr answer is No, this IMO is a good time to test whether yr Company has serious Commitment to Food Safety, an aspect which is invariably critical to attaining BRC Certification.

Hello Charles.C :)

 

Yes, our company has a  HACCP based food control plan. Our managing director looked over the FCP before I took over. 

I want to get things right as many as I can to implement BRC food safety programme :)

 

Cheers :)

Mandy