October 2022

Get Ready for BRCGS Issue 9 Changes

Certification audits against Brand Reputation Compliance Global Standards (BRCGS)’s new standard will start on February 1, 2023.

These changes were derived from the most common non-conformities for Issue 8. In fact, these eight clauses counted for 30% of all non-conformances over the past few years:

• 11.1 – Premises and equipment hygiene
• 4.8 – Doors – both internal and external
• 6.1 – Equipment construction and maintenance
• 9.1.1 – Chemical control
• 4.1 – Walls – condition and cleaning
• 7.1 – Hazard identification
• 15.1 – Risk assessment for safe storage of ingredients
• 1.2 – Food Safety culture plan

Here’s a list of the Key Changes from BRCGS Issue 8 to Issue 9:

• Product Safety Culture – Consideration of the behavior changes needed to improve culture
  • Sites shall plan to maintain and develop product safety and quality culture within the business
• HACCP/Food Safety Plan – Latest publication of the Codex Alimentarius HACCP principles influence update to several clauses
  • The food safety plan/HACCP requirements updated with the Codex Alimentarius HACCP principles
  • Sites are advised to avoid having multiple plans with different terminology
• Outsourced Processing – New requirements added to ensure outsourced processes are built into a site’s HACCP plan and requirements agreed in a specification
  • Statement of Intent updated to ensure clarity
  • New requirements added to ensure outsourced processes are built into a sites HACCP plan and requirements agreed in a specification
• Root Cause Analysis
  • Clauses reviewed to ensure consistent approach
  • Better linkage to other sections for continual improvement
• Food Defense
  • Section now specific to food defense requirements
  • Clauses mirror food fraud section, so the site can choose to consider the two topics (food defense and food fraud) together
• Equipment – Several standards and industry guidelines updated that provide detailed recommendations for hygienic equipment. Section updated to align with current industry best practices.
  • Consideration when purchasing new equipment or equipment that is new to the site
  • New clause on installation and commissioning
  • New clauses on mobile & static equipment. Battery charging considerations.
  • Requirements for moveable equipment (when moved from one area to another or outside)
• Animal Primary Conversion (slaughter) – New section. Specific controls are required to ensure that food remains safe, authentic, and legal during animal slaughter/dressing.
  • New section
  • The clauses within this section are closely linked to clauses within other sections of the Standard.
• Changes to audit format options
  • Blended audit (optional) – document review can be remote, followed by a shorter, onsite visit. Only available for announced options.  Still required to have one unannounced every three years.
• Unannounced audit – one in three audits must be unannounced. (Already introduced in 2020)

Visit BRCGS’s website for more information.

Have a customer that is asking for a third-party audit and don’t know where to start? GaMEP food-industry experts explain the process and help you prepare to satisfy this frequent customer requirement in our recent webinar, “Demystifying GFSI, SQF, and other Third Party Audits.”

If you need additional assistance getting started, GaMEP can help you prepare for third-party food safety audits by conducting a comprehensive onsite gap assessment. Please visit our Food and Beverage Industry Page or reach out to GaMEP’s Food Safety Industry Manager, Wendy White, for more information.