Is Storage & Distribution different from the Food Safety standards
Hello, everybody.
Tackling a new project with a company that wants to be certified as quickly as possible in BRC Storage & Distribution.
My main experience is with Food Safety standards such as BRC, FSSC 22000 and SQF so I'm just wondering if they're really worlds aparts in terms of the audit experience or there's not that much difference and there's more focus on certain points in Storage&Distribution compared to more basic requirements in Food Safety.
I'm currently reading the Storage&Distribution V.3 Guidelines and requirements and I see a lot of stuff that is also used in Food Saferty, though I'm a bit worried about the focal pooints in the audit.
In your experience, what do you guys think?
Hi Dapulu,
Personally I think it will be easier going from Food Safety to Storage & Distribution. My first role in Technical was with a distributor preparing for BRC S&D, before now working for a manufacturer, and I'd say the general requirements for Food Safety are more complex due to the open product nature of the site and process. The only thing I've experienced so far being simpler with the manufacturer is the suppler approval section, but only because we have a much smaller number of suppliers compared to the several hundred I used to have to cover for the distributor.
The basic system requirements will be similar - document control, training, that type of thing. As the BRC Standard is developed uniquely for the logistics industry, it tends to be very well aligned - it was not an offshoot or version of what was originally a food safety program. There are a number of typical product protection elements - temperature, contamination, damage and the like that support logistics of food (not all of which should you be distributing say packaging only, or consumer products).
Reach out to the certification body you intend to use, they can often provide some support and advice. BRC has a number of recognized trainers in Mexico, and of course the Americas office team to help as well.