BRC 8 - 5.4.4: How to meet the requirement for Mass Balance Tests?

According to  BRC version 8

5.4.4           " The site shall undertake documented mass balance tests at a frequency to meet the particular scheme requirements or at least every 6 months in the absence of a scheme-specific requirement.The site shall undertake documented mass balance tests at a frequency to meet the particular scheme requirements or at least every 6 months in the absence of a scheme-specific requirement." 

can someone explain to us what it means and how to meet this requirement.

Thanks

This section applies if you are making any specific product claims - e.g. Organic, Fairtrade, non-GMO etc.

For some of these (e.g. Organic) there is separate certification required, and the relevant certification schemes may mandate a minimum frequency for traceability and mass balance tests.

This BRC clause requires that in the absence of any requirements from a specific other certification scheme, you do your internal test at least once every 6 month.

Have you got a copy of the BRC Issue 8 Interpretation Guidelines? If not then this is worth obtaining - it's free if you're already on the BRC Participate scheme, or £125 from the BRC Bookshop here if not. If it's your first time doing BRC then I believe this will be a very sensible purchase for you.

This section applies if you are making any specific product claims - e.g. Organic, Fairtrade, non-GMO etc.

For some of these (e.g. Organic) there is separate certification required, and the relevant certification schemes may mandate a minimum frequency for traceability and mass balance tests.

This BRC clause requires that in the absence of any requirements from a specific other certification scheme, you do your internal test at least once every 6 month.

 

Have you got a copy of the BRC Issue 8 Interpretation Guidelines? If not then this is worth obtaining - it's free if you're already on the BRC Participate scheme, or £125 from the BRC Bookshop here if not. If it's your first time doing BRC then I believe this will be a very sensible purchase for you.

So, if I understand correctly I must perform a traceability test + material balance at least once every 6 months in case of allegation.

The short answer is yes.
The longer answer is that it could depend on which specific claim(s) you're making and any other requirements relating to it - for example, if you're labelling a product as organic and your organic certifier stipulates a requirement to do a mass balance / trace every 3 months then this would override the BRC requirement. (I'm not readily aware of any schemes that do have such a requirement, so just an illustration).

The short answer is yes.
The longer answer is that it could depend on which specific claim(s) you're making and any other requirements relating to it - for example, if you're labelling a product as organic and your organic certifier stipulates a requirement to do a mass balance / trace every 3 months then this would override the BRC requirement. (I'm not readily aware of any schemes that do have such a requirement, so just an illustration).

Right

Thanks