Controlling glass, brittle plastic and ceramic materials

Contents

• The standards
• The requirements
• BRCGS Food Safety Issue 9

The standards

This article is written to meet the following sections of the Standards:

The requirements

Procedure

A procedure must be in place for the management of glass, ceramics and other brittle materials that are covered by the scope, which is:

• In facilities and equipment where product is held or handled.
• In areas where breakages could get moved into product areas (e.g. on shoes or wheels).

The procedure must include:

• A glass policy, of what is and what’s not allowed on site.
• A risk assessment and register of the items.
• Condition-based checks of the items.
• Maintenance of items.

Design

Glass, ceramics and other brittle materials must be removed from product areas, wherever this is possible.

Where these materials can’t be avoided, they must be protected to prevent them from breaking.

Risk assessment

A risk assessment must carried out of all glass, ceramic and brittle materials to determine how often the condition-based checks on each item must be carried out.

The objective is to assess the:

• Likelihood of the breakage.
• Likelihood of a breakage contaminating the product.

The higher the risk, the more frequent the check must be. Where there is a high-risk of both breakage and contamination of the product, the item must be checked daily, as part of the start-up checks.

When assessing likelihood of breakage of lights, pallet movement and high lift equipment must be considered.

Register of items

All glass, ceramic and brittle materials covered by the scope, must be listed on a register, which provides enough information to allow each piece to be located including:

• Details the items location.
• The number of items.
• The type; glass, ceramic, hard plastic etc.

Condition-based checks

Each item on the register must be checked at a frequency identified through the risk assessment.

The condition-based checks must assess the item for damage, recording the outcome of the check, even where the item is found to be in good condition.

Maintenance

Maintenance and cleaning of glass items (e.g. light bulbs or EFK bulbs) must be carried out in a way that minimises the risk of breakage.

Materials that are at risk of contamination beneath such items should be moved or covered to prevent contamination in the event of a breakage.

Breakages

A breakage procedure must be in place, which details:

• Reporting of breakages to a responsible person.
• How to isolate the affected area which must be at least 10m zone around the breakage.
• The processing of product must stop within at least the affected zone.
• Risk assessment to determine if any other materials may have been affected.
• Quarantine of affected materials.
• Restricting access of personnel to the affected zone.
• How the area must be cleaned to remove the contamination, which must include:
  • Who is authorised to carry out the clean.
  • Using a top down cleaning method.
  • What equipment must be used and what must happen to it after use.
• How broken materials must be disposed of.
• Changing of PPE by staff who have been in the affected area.
• Inspection of the area by an authorised member of staff, prior to the removal of the isolation zone and re-start of any product handling.
• Recording of the breakage and all actions taken.

BRCGS Food Safety Issue 9

4.9.3.2   The word ‘documented’ has been removed from the clause, as a procedure must always be documented. Clarification has been added to state that where an item is being monitored rather than repaired, that this must be checked.