6 replies to this topic

[kconf]

Hi folks,

As the title says - does BRCGS have a specific requirement on how many swabs must be done quarterly or yearly? We are a small, low risk confectionery and I don't want to overdo it. 

[kingstudruler1]

Like most of the GFSI schemes, the number of swabs (locations) and frequency are based on risk.   You will need to be able to defend what you have developed.  I wouldnt mention "small" tho.  LOL.   

 

I like to list all of the possible areas where samples can be taken.   Then I assign risk / priority, organisms, methods, frequency, etc. to those sites.  

[jfrey123]

You need enough spots, sampled at a high enough frequency, to prove your EM program is effective.  Then once your plant is too clean for too long, you'll want to dive into "discretionary" or randomized swabs of non-routine locations to prove you're actively looking for it to prevent it from hiding somewhere.

 

In short, most auditors encourage overdoing it and will scrutinize heavily if they feel they can argue you're not doing enough.

[kconf]

For years we did at least 100 swabs per year, with no positives for pathogens or high indicators. This year we did less than 25 as the results were always consistent. Would I be in trouble? I have even swabbed the dirtiest places (drains, restrooms etc.) with no action level results. 

[MDaleDDF]

I do zones 2-4 quarterly, but I have almost two decades of evidence built up.   Zone 1 I atp 3 places once a week, which by now every auditor has told me is overkill and I can dial back, but at that number I still don't use all the swabs before the expire anyway.

I have dialed it down to only doing zone 4 as investigatory.   Though every now and then I swab there just for S's and G's.....

[jfrey123]

For years we did at least 100 swabs per year, with no positives for pathogens or high indicators. This year we did less than 25 as the results were always consistent. Would I be in trouble? I have even swabbed the dirtiest places (drains, restrooms etc.) with no action level results. 

 

Probably defendable, especially given the history so I would always keep those results (or at least the trended version of them) handy.  My only concern without knowing the full operation would be frequency, but as long as it's at least quarterly then again you can defend it based on the long history.  I did the same at my old spice job where we had some swabs monthly, a larger set done quarterly, and we moved to the quarterly only after data demonstrating 5+ years with no out of spec findings.

 

In comparison, I'm in high care fruit and veg now on a corporate QA team, and our 9 facilities are averaging 60-150 per month on a rotating list for zones 2, 3, and 4.  Despite that, our SQF auditors keep implying we could be doing more, so each site includes 10 "discretionary" swabs of spots that might not be on their list of normal locations.  I get it's a bit different than BRC, just sharing as anecdotal.

[kconf]

Awesome! Thanks guys!