BRC Issue 8 - Clause 4.9.6.1 Debagging / deboxing

Hello all,

We are a salmon processing plant in Norway, and the raw material arrives in styrofoam boxes. These type of boxes are used by all salmon slaughter houses in Norway to pack the salmon in. As most of us will suspect, styrofoam as packaging material brings certain risks of physical contamination due to it braking quite easily and consists of small pieces.  

In the new BRC issue 8, there is a new clause (4.9.6.1) which states that procedure shall be in place to prevent physical contamination of raw material by raw material packaging (e.g. during debagging and deboxing procedures to remove the packaging). 

Anybody having some good suggestion on how to handle this, besides a control on the integrity of each and every box? 

Many thanks!

Is the salmon in a bag inside the box?

If so, then you could wipe the bags down or dip them in water (if required) prior to deboxing and that could be your written procedure

If the salmon are whole, then one could assume that by the time each fish is processed any bits would have been removed, i would also assume you've got quality checks in place for the pieces prior to final packaging.

Perhaps you just need a procedure that incorporates all the methods you are already using into 1 that is specifically for this particular hazard

Hi Scampi,

No salmon is not in a bag but, loose on ice. Salmon is whole, head on and gutted, and on the production line standing a lot of people and yes, QC checks are performed. Also, a lot of water is used on the line that flushes away loose fish meat pieces, scales, residue skin etc. Flushing also removes any residue particles of styrofoam.

Thanks for the suggestion will crack my mind about it :)

No other suggestions?

No other suggestions?

The BRC interpretation guide suggests that packaging should be visually checked for contamination prior to transport into processing areas plus an existence of procedures fulfilling the clause's  text where packaging is removed prior to use of raw material.

This post kind of died. However, @rdeboer1986, processing validation is the best thing you can do. 

Here is a great guide for various validations including Foreign Material Control: 

<<< Food_Safety_Systems_-_Prerequisite_Programs_and_Validation.pdf >>>>>

Hope that helps!

Thank you,

kanchan 

2-year old thread.

Thanks anyway.