BRCGS Food Safety
BRCGS Food Safety Position Statements
Position Statements for BRCGS Food Safety – all you need to know in one place. We check the BRCGS website every week for updated position statements, so you don’t have to.
The following BRCGS Food Safety position statements are shown in date order, most recent first.
Unfortunately due to copyright we now cannot show changes to the position statements in yellow – as we are only able to link to documents on the BRCGS website. This also means that where BRCGS Food Safety position statements are not available on their website – we can’t link to them for you. Apologies for this.
Last reviewed 28th Jan 2022
Document details
Purpose
Version 2: 24th 1st April 2021
BRCGS085 GuidanceforSites Manufacturing CBD products
NEW:Version 2
Clarification on which Standard would be used to certificate CBD products, if relevant and permitted legally.
Version 1.1
Updated to widen the scope to include food products and therefore reference to the Food Safety Standard.
Version 1
Guidance on the manufacturing of CBD products (cannabis).
Version 4: 17th March 2021
NEW: Version 4
Clarification that home laundry is only allowed for low risk, enclosed product or non-product areas AND where the clothing is not worn to protect the product.
Clarification for GFSI benchmarking that the raw material risk assessment must cover the risks from the animal and carcass. And that factory specifications must include the key processing requirements such as times and temperatures post slaughter and processing.
Version 3
Clarifies that not all products require environmental monitoring based on risk.
Version 2
Clarifies that fully cooked crustaceans must be handled in a high risk area. High care areas will be permitted until issue 9 is published, however, there must be robust and validated food safety controls in place to prevent pathogenic contamination of cooked products. Effective 3rd Sept 2019 (i.e. immediate effect)
From issue 9 all fully cooked crustacean products must be handled in high risk facilities. Effective issue 9
Version 1
Provides clarity for minor and major non-conformances against the culture clause (1.1.2). Effective 1st June 2019
Also clarifies that a site will not get a non-conformance if they haven’t completed their one year review, because one year has not yet passed from the go live date of issue 8. Effective 1st June 2019
Clarifies that sites cannot change certification body if; they fail their audit (and therefore lose their certificate) or if they want to re-do their audit early to improve their grade (as the last audit was downgraded), unless agreed in writing with BRC prior to the audit. Also, that if a site fails an audit, they can go to a new certitfication body if 6 months has passed with BRC agreement, as this is treated as a new audit. Effective 1st June 2019
Version 3: 12th March 2021 (NEW)
Version 3
Additional 60 minutes allowed for covid requirements (e.g. auditor testing).
Version 2.1
Date for suspension of unannounced audits extended until 31st Dec 2021.
Version 3.1 1st March 2021 (NEW)
Version 3.1
Added details for when your blended audit is combined with another GFSI audit. And, addition of the gluten free certificate to the blended audit option.
Version 1
Details on how to complete a BRCGS blended audit, which is part remote and part on site.
Version 2.1: 1st March 2021 (NEW)
BRCGS079: Protocol on unannounced audits (for announced sites)
Version 2.1
New protocol for sites which have very short seasons. S&D sites have the option to choose fully unannounced, or part announced on the year that it’s due.
Version 1.1
Outlines the requirements for announced sites to have 1 unnanounced audit every 3 years.
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