BRC Agents and Brokers Product Safety Management System Package

About BRC Global Standard for Agents and Brokers

The BRC Global Standard for Agents and Brokers is a GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) recognized standard having been assessed as meeting GFSI Benchmarking Requirements Scope N FOOD BROKER/AGENT.

The BRC began to develop the standard following the horsemeat scandal in the UK, when it identified the weak link in the supply chain as the lack of traceability back to source for food products. The standard was written in consultation with retailers and certification bodies to ensure full transparency throughout the food supply chain.
https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/92289-british-retail-consortium-introduces-new-agents-and-brokers-standard.

In order to achieve certification, Agents & Brokers need to demonstrate that they manage product safety, integrity, quality and legality effectively. The standard is applicable for businesses in the food, packaging and consumer products industries that buy, sell or facilitate the trade of products, but do not process, manufacture or store the traded products in their own facilities or on their own sites.

The BRC Global Standard for Agents and Brokers has requirements in 4 main areas:

1. Senior Management Commitment and Continual Improvement
   Senior management are required to ensure adequate resources are available, plan to develop a food safety culture, ensure there is effective communication, review systems and implement actions to improve. Product safety responsibilities are not exclusive to the technical department, all members of staff should be committed to and responsible for product authenticity, quality, legality and safety, including logistics, sales and purchasing personnel.

1. Hazard and Risk AssessmentThe Standard requires hazard and risk analysis and the development of product safety plans (based on CODEX HACCP principles) covering the services/operations the company manages or specifies.

1. Product Safety and Quality Management System
   The standard requires documented Product Safety and Quality Management System procedures which cover key system management elements including:
   • Documentation Control
   • Control of Records
   • Customer Focus and Communication
   • Internal Audit
   • Specifications for Products
   • Traceability
   • Complaint Handling
   • Corrective Action
   • Control of Non-Conforming Product
   • Management of Incidents
   • Product Withdrawal and Product Recall
2. Supplier and Subcontracted Service Management
   The Standard requires a risk-based approach to the selection and management of product manufacturers, subcontractors and service providers to ensure products and services are only sourced from approved manufacturers, following agreed specifications, with a traceable and transparent supply chain.

The Key Components to the BRC Standard are in 5 Sections

Changes in the newly published Issue 3 include alignment with the GFSI benchmark, a requirement for senior management to plan and develop a food safety culture and a greater emphasis on food authenticity and food defence. There are also updated requirements for product safety activities including internal audits, preventative action, root cause analysis and incident management.