BRC Certification: What’s Changed With BRCGS Food Safety Issue 9
Industry experts describe the latest BRCGS Food Safety Issue 9 as "a quiet evolution," representing a culmination of 20 years of continuous updates and refinement.
This latest BRC certification standard incorporates the most recent industry trends and operations, as well as practical experiences and best practices. What’s more, Issue 9 reflects lessons learned from the industry's adaptations during the COVID-19 pandemic, incorporates new regulatory changes, and addresses the latest requirements from the food industry. Here are the most exciting developments in the new issue and how to ensure your facility remains compliant.
What Changed with Issue 9?
The introduction of a blended audit option, also known as a hybrid, is the single most exciting development in Issue 9. As Yuval Noah Harari, author of Sapiens, once said, “The pandemic has fast-forwarded behaviors and methodologies which were once seen as for future years into the present moment.”
Formerly considered exceptions and non-acceptable activities, like working from home or distance learning, are now mainstream. And the auditing process has not been immune to this change. The part of the audit that's usually conducted in a conference room to facilitate the sharing of documents, files, and records can now be done remotely using a video platform like Zoom or Microsoft Teams. Then, the next portion of the audit must be conducted on-site within 28 days.
Combining Food Safety and Sustainability
Since implementation, hybrid audits have resulted in substantial greenhouse gas emission reductions. Under the previous standard, an auditor could require 10 flights and 13 days to audit five sites within the same country. Since introducing the hybrid audit model, a comparable audit has only required four flights and seven nights of accommodation to investigate the same five facilities.
Most importantly, BRCGS research has found no significant difference between hybrid audits and regular audits in terms of outcomes and accuracy.
More Key Changes to the BRC Certification
In Issue 9, BRCGS has updated the definition of "outsourced processing" for HACCP plans to clarify that a product must return to the initial site to be considered "outsourced." This change mandates that outsourced processing must always be included in the company’s HACCP plan to remain compliant. Additionally, stakeholders must outline and document an "acceptance procedure" for any of their products that are outsourced for part of production.
Other changes include:
- Requiring a separate section on food defense to be included in the same document as the company’s food fraud plan
- Increasing emphasis on root cause analysis
- Improving vendor approval clauses to ensure companies consider food defense and food fraud as central to the assessment process
- Strengthening requirements for equipment control, commissioning, and catering
- Requiring that staff involved in assessing food fraud be able to demonstrate their competence and expertise
- Increasing the scope to permit animal feed production
- Defining more controls for animal slaughterhouses
- Requiring that in high-care facilities with time separation, all traded products be assessed under a product safety plan
A New Era of BRC Certification Standards
The additional policies in Issue 9 significantly enhance food safety outcomes, but can require major operational and facility changes to achieve compliance. Though BRCGS outlines what these changes entail, it can be challenging to implement updates and ensure your operation is in alignment with the new standards.
AIB International has prepared an in-depth, day-long course to help food safety stakeholders get up-to-speed on the new standard requirements. Sign up for BRCGS Global Standard for Food Safety Issue 9: Sites Conversion to level-up your entire team’s compliance knowledge.
