New low-risk site coffee roasting and co-packing - where do we start to achieve BRC?

Hi all. Hoping to get some clarification on where do I start in order to get our brand new facility certified to the BRC standard (requirement by our customers). One location - being a 3000m2 factory located in the UK. The machinery is still being delivered, assembled and set up. We are expecting to start being operational by January 2022.
We roast and pack coffee in bags and aluminium coffee capsules.

I guess what I’m asking is where do we start? Any plans, forms anyone can share with me or point in the direction where to find them? I would appreciate it greatly.

Kind regards,
Olesia

Hi Olesia, welcome to the forum :welcome:

Your question is very broad!

IFSQN has a manual package for BRC in the store here: https://www.ifsqn.co...turers-issue-8/

If you've not got much background/experience with BRC then this will give you a decent start on the documentation side of things.

If you don't yet have a copy, it is very much worthwhile buying the Interpretation Guide from the BRC Bookshop: https://www.brcgs.co...uideline/p-658/

 

If you're new to BRC and food safety systems then it might also be worth thinking about getting a consultant in - even if they don't set up the entire system for you, they should be able to help set you off in the right direction with specific guidance relevant to your site.

 

There are also loads of posts in the BRC section of the IFSQN forum - if you put the clause number in the search box at the top right of the website you'll often find discussions and examples for some of the more ambiguous/problematic clauses ;)

Hi Olesia, welcome to the forum :welcome:
Your question is very broad!
IFSQN has a manual package for BRC in the store here: https://www.ifsqn.co...turers-issue-8/
If you've not got much background/experience with BRC then this will give you a decent start on the documentation side of things.
If you don't yet have a copy, it is very much worthwhile buying the Interpretation Guide from the BRC Bookshop: https://www.brcgs.co...uideline/p-658/
 
If you're new to BRC and food safety systems then it might also be worth thinking about getting a consultant in - even if they don't set up the entire system for you, they should be able to help set you off in the right direction with specific guidance relevant to your site.
 
There are also loads of posts in the BRC section of the IFSQN forum - if you put the clause number in the search box at the top right of the website you'll often find discussions and examples for some of the more ambiguous/problematic clauses ;)

Thank you so much for getting back to me.
I’ve checked the links and it looks like I need to speak to my accounts department:) Thank you though!

We had a similar facility in Australia but weren’t certified to BRC standard, but SQF, with a few differences because we were Shari site with one other company. We have an advanced knowledge about HOW the factory should be operated and we praised in the quality of our product. However, paperwork didn’t get saved and we have no access to it now.

We have HACCP plan and HAT for roasting and capsules but nothing extensive.

We have involved an external consultant for the purposes of obtaining desired certification but I’m trying to navigate through it myself because at the end of the day, I will be the one looking after that side of things. It’s a family owned business.

What I’ll do is I’ll forward your links our consultant and see if she’s already got it and I guess we’ll then be able to tell if we are on the right track with our consultant or will need a change. Actually, do you know if the consultant is good? Is there a way? I would appreciate the guidance:)

Ok, so you're not going into it completely "cold", which is a good thing - if you're confident in the operational side of things then the creation of the manual is almost a case of working through the BRC standard and interpretation guide, and making the corresponding policies/procedures/work instructions to match up to the clauses, and the associated records to go with those. Sounds simple written out in a single sentence, but it'll be quite time-consuming if it's your first go at it!

 

Hopefully the consultant has a successful track record of BRC implementation, or perhaps came via a recommendation? The best consultants I've encountered seem to pick up a lot of work through word of mouth recommendations from former colleagues/employers/clients.

Yes, easier said than done) …IF you are a “first-timer”…
I’ve emailed our consultant to see if she would be willing to share a BRC guidebook with me. Otherwise I’ll need to purchase it and work through the clauses.

Thanks for all your help thus far!

I have a checklist we use from start to finish for both clients where we are developing and then another for companies that have signed up for our eConsultant. I could send you the one that we use raw if you would like.

I have a checklist we use from start to finish for both clients where we are developing and then another for companies that have signed up for our eConsultant. I could send you the one that we use raw if you would like.

I would appreciate it greatly

I have a checklist we use from start to finish for both clients where we are developing and then another for companies that have signed up for our eConsultant. I could send you the one that we use raw if you would like.

Or share it here ?

 

@ Nikolaieva - Re -" I’ve emailed our consultant to see if she would be willing to share a BRC guidebook with me". Isnt't that what you're paying the Consultant for ?

Ok, so you're not going into it completely "cold", which is a good thing - if you're confident in the operational side of things then the creation of the manual is almost a case of working through the BRC standard and interpretation guide, and making the corresponding policies/procedures/work instructions to match up to the clauses, and the associated records to go with those. Sounds simple written out in a single sentence, but it'll be quite time-consuming if it's your first go at it!

 

Hopefully the consultant has a successful track record of BRC implementation, or perhaps came via a recommendation? The best consultants I've encountered seem to pick up a lot of work through word of mouth recommendations from former colleagues/employers/clients.

I agree strongly with this.   the standard, guidance and audit checklist are your friend.  

Many of the sections are not hard to comprehend for someone that has some industry experience.  creating things form scratch forces you to learn the expectation and understand how and why things were created they way they were.   there is lots of help here if you need it.  

Or share it here ?
 
@ Nikolaieva - Re -" I’ve emailed our consultant to see if she would be willing to share a BRC guidebook with me". Isnt't that what you're paying the Consultant for ?

Tbh I don’t know what we’re paying her for, I wasn’t the one organising a consultant… I know that the lady starts in two weeks and will be on site once a week for a period of four hours.
Up to date, she shared a BRC V8 with me, guidebook and a self-assessment tool.

I agree strongly with this.   the standard, guidance and audit checklist are your friend.  

Many of the sections are not hard to comprehend for someone that has some industry experience.  creating things form scratch forces you to learn the expectation and understand how and why things were created they way they were.   there is lots of help here if you need it.

Thank you. Yes, I gathered that. It’s GMP + common sense + correct wording. I’ve started from the scratch a using search on here helped me tremendously already with people sharing their examples of the policies etc.

All dry roast coffee? No RTD options?

All dry roast coffee? No RTD options?

Yes, roasting; packing beans and ground coffee; packing aluminium Nespresso compatible coffee capsules; making cold brew concentrate (bulk)

There are a full range of resources provided by BRCGS. 

 

For example, on our website you will find a full gap analysis/checklist for each BRCGS Standard - allowing you to compare operations with the requirements of the Standard.

Training and interpretation guidelines are also available.

 

Lots of guidance on getting started can also be found at https://www.brcgs.co...-get-certified/