Help - I'm starting a new food manufacturing plant in the uk
Hi,
I have a number of years within the food industry in the UK, and whilst I've been a part of big projects I've never led a one.
Anyway, I'm looking to start building within a vacant building a production area and need some help in terms of steps i need to take so that i don't miss anything out.
Firstly I'm registering with the EHO, appreciate i will need BRC but i need 3 months worth of records to do this.
I've rewritten my HACCP plan documents and work instructions as well as sorting service contracts out such as pest control etc. Allergen risk assessment is done.
Is there anything I'm fundamentally missing? Is there a concise list or document i could work from?
I plan to have the area all low risk but chilled to <5 so i can cook and cool product which is ready to eat.
Hi Sarah,
welcome to the Forum.
are your questions concerning the health officers?
In my experience they react well to getting asked, I don't know if the UK charges for checks, but their job is to keep the consumer safe, I in my carrier so far worked very well with them in the past, but not in the UK - sorry.
As for the BRC:
I have established IFS (remarkably similar) for a small company myself as a carrier starter, so a bit of experience.
A lot will depend on your buildings and sourroundings, did you already have costumer audits (bigger retail chains for example, they are the ones owning BRC and for a big part working on them, so most of if not all will be covered in those audits).
Next thing you want to get a hold of is the standard. You can use this as a "checklist".
This would be one of the options you can work from. I worked from the standard and it worked out just fine.
Another one might be this one, check it out if it is something you can work with.
https://www.ifsqn.co...ategory/11-brc/
If you can, I recommend working with a consultant, preferably one who is also an BRC Auditor in this field – just in case you missed anything.
One major thing I am missing on the list is cleaning and sanitation (which chemicals, concentration, time, temperature, effect on food), I am sure you have considered it, but just to be safe.
Good luck,
Lucas
Hi Sarah
As suggested by Lucas using the BRC standard as a guide is good idea
It will give you a view of what a quality manual should contain
My concern is
I plan to have the area all low risk but chilled to <5 so i can cook and cool product which is ready to eat.
I would encourage you to get a copy of the BRC standard and refer to the Guidelines on Defining Production Risk Zones
cooked products that are stored chilled and are ready to eat are often high risk
you need to be sure what category your products fall under
regards
I would definitely recommend using BRC as a guideline for creating a Food Safety Quality Manual, i have my BRC standard and FSQM on my desk and use it everyday for referencing.
I am happy to help if you are not familiar with the standard.
:)