Overview of the traceability requirements from the BRC Global Standard

The Brand Reputation through Compliance Global Standard (BRCGS) is a global body that focuses on food safety and quality within the food manufacturing industry. The benefits of passing any one of its standards (which include food safety, packaging, storage & distribution and more) means your brand can be trusted by other brands and customers alike.

However, passing any of the standards isn’t easy, and if you don’t have a Traceability System, the requirements can seem daunting. Nonetheless, you’ll be glad to know that we’ll be your guide. So, rather than weaving yourself through the maze of information on the BRGCS website, read on to know what these requirements are.

One of the standards the BRCGS issues is the Food Safety Standard. The standard is recognised worldwide as the benchmark for best practices in food safety, quality, and responsibility. By applying to be audited against the standard, you could potentially receive a Food Safety Certificate that is awarded by the BRCGS. The benefits of the Food Safety Certification are:

• Better brand reputation
• Increased loyalty
• Brand Integrity
• Supermarkets and other retailers are more likely to trade with you

To obtain the certification, the BRCGS supplies a framework for any industry that is looking to showcase its commitment to food safety and quality. Within this framework are requirements that a business will be assessed on. These requirements are separated under systems that are typically found in a food or drink manufacturing facility. Some of these are labelled ‘fundamental requirements’ which relate to systems that are essential to a facility.

For example, ‘Traceability’ is labelled as a fundamental requirement because it relates to a system that is crucial to the establishment and operation of an effective food quality and safety facility. How well your business is able to meet these requirements on inspection determines the grade you will receive on your Food Safety Certificate. The attainable grades are:

• Grade AA+
• Grade AA
• Grade A+
• Grade A
• Grade B+
• Grade B
• Grade C+
• Grade C
• Grade D+
• Grade D
• No Grade

Ideally, you want to receive a grade above B+ in order to maximise credibility with consumers and retailers.

Under the BRCGS Food Safety Standard, there are four requirements you must meet for traceability.

Requirement 1

 

To meet the first requirement, you need to have a documented traceability procedure in place. This procedure must be designed to ensure that traceability is maintained throughout the production process. At the bare minimum, you must be able to demonstrate how your traceability system operates and provide the labelling and records required by the inspector.

Requirement 2

 

For the second requirement, your traceability system must be able to identify raw materials (including primary packaging), intermediate/semi-processed products, part-used materials, finished products, and materials pending investigation to ensure traceability.

Requirement 3

 

To meet this requirement, you will need to test your traceability system across the range of products you make. Essentially, this is to ensure that traceability can be determined from the point of origin (the supplier of the raw material) to the end product and vice versa.

If you are a producer of a food product or raw material, the test of your traceability system will include a quantity check or mass balance.

Other traceability tests to meet this requirement include:

• A summary of the documents that will be required for referencing during the audit
• The audit will occur at a predetermined frequency, which can be anything from once per year to every quarter or more
• The ability to achieve traceability within 4 hours

Requirement 4

 

The final requirement involves an audit of reworking. A test will be carried out to ensure traceability. To pass the audit, you should anticipate the inspection to take place anywhere rework or reworking operations are performed.

For example, bakeries should foresee an inspection into any areas that involve the reprocessing of dough that’s left over from previous productions, and that traceability is achieved here.

1.   All records and reports stored in one place, with a paperless system

 

Installing a Stevens Traceability System will ensure that all records and reports are comprehensive and stored in one place. This means that producing evidence for traceability audits is quick, easy and at the click of a button.

2.   Easy identification of raw materials and commodities

 

Under the circumstances of a Food Safety audit, demonstrating to inspectors the identification of materials and products has never been easier with the Stevens Traceability System.

Users can set up products and commodities in the form of raw materials and packaging and set the relevant specifications for them. Ingredients are stored in the system as commodities and then used in recipes that include the ingredients.

In other words, complete, quick and detailed identification for your benefit, especially when it comes to a Food Safety Standards audit for traceability.

3.   Complete traceability from goods-in

 

With the Stevens Traceability System, materials that arrive on-site can be scanned in and assigned a unique lot number that’s used to reference that particular lot across all stages of production it’s used in. This means complete visibility of the lot’s movement and use throughout the entire production process.

Even when ingredients are mixed together to form a new commodity, traceability is still achieved with the Stevens Traceability System. Any new commodity formed becomes its own new lot number. This lot number refers to the lots that went into it, meaning you gain an overview of all movement of lots in and around the production processes for easy tracking and traceability.

In other words, identifying materials (including primary packaging) and products for the Food Safety Standard is easier now than before.

4.   Quantity check and mass balance

 

The Stevens Traceability System also gives you a real-time stock deduction to help you meet the third requirement of the Food Safety Standard.

Real-time stock deduction works by the system automatically displaying how much of a particular lot is left as operators weigh out ingredients or materials. Lot quantities can also be viewed in the management suite, giving you complete visibility when an audit calls for quantity and mass balance transparency.

5.   Set up quality assurance to ensure traceability of allergens

 

Ensure safety and quality by setting up quality assurance procedures on the system. Any allergens or ingredients pending investigation are flagged, and a step-by-step procedure is implemented to prevent allergen risk and poor standards.

If you are looking to implement a paperless Traceability System into your business, we would be happy to have an informal chat about your business needs. Visit our contact us page and get in touch. If you have a general enquiry, head over to our website and use the chat function to query any questions you may have.