BRCGS Clause 3.5 - Supplier Approval Program
I have been tasked to build our BRC Safety & Quality Manual for a slaughter and processing house. I am stuck on the supplier approval program (Clause 3.5). It states if our suppliers are not operating under a GFSI scheme, we should create a supplier checklist or the like to assess the risk level of our suppliers. Since we get our livestock from very small farms locally, we would need to create a questionnaire for them, but I have no idea what types of questions we would ask for a farm supplier! I'm coming from a background in distribution so this is so new to me. Anyone have any ideas??
You need to be asking some questions about their animal husbandry
I would use the USDA as your guide as dealing with animals and slaughter gets very very detailed. Depending on the animal(s) in question, there are controls that MUST be followed, such as the spinal column in cattle for BSE trichinosis in swine etc etc. Then there's varying evisceration standards for carcass and organ inspections.
Control of the waste (hoofs/hides/feathers)
You will also want some sort of animal health report--were they given any medications that have a withdrawal time or are not suitable for human consumption at all
I don't want to alarm you , but you've got a really steep hill ahead of you
Tell me about it! I've been involved in the process and learning for a year, and have barely covered the tip of the iceberg! The good thing is that we slaughter and process animals from live, so we'd only have to inquire about the process on their farm. I was definitely going to include the mentioned questions about medicines, etc as we are a certified organic facility. Also animal welfare questions. Honestly I wish we were going to go for the GRMS standard...would make so much more sense for our products.
You need to be asking some questions about their animal husbandry
I would use the USDA as your guide as dealing with animals and slaughter gets very very detailed. Depending on the animal(s) in question, there are controls that MUST be followed, such as the spinal column in cattle for BSE trichinosis in swine etc etc. Then there's varying evisceration standards for carcass and organ inspections.
Control of the waste (hoofs/hides/feathers)
You will also want some sort of animal health report--were they given any medications that have a withdrawal time or are not suitable for human consumption at all
I don't want to alarm you , but you've got a really steep hill ahead of you
I've worked in a BRC certified slaughter house as well as FSSC (which was better)
You will want proof of the farmers organic status and certifications from their organic CB. By the way, there are A LOT of "approved" medications for organically raised animals. They cannot be allowed to suffer
Make sure you have the animal health info at least the day before so you have time to question the farmer if something looks off
Are you talking poultry or swine or bovine?
Nice! Currently we are dealing with bovine, ovine and even some caprine!
I've worked in a BRC certified slaughter house as well as FSSC (which was better)
You will want proof of the farmers organic status and certifications from their organic CB. By the way, there are A LOT of "approved" medications for organically raised animals. They cannot be allowed to suffer
Make sure you have the animal health info at least the day before so you have time to question the farmer if something looks off
Are you talking poultry or swine or bovine?