Implications of the New (6th) BRC Standards for Design of Food Premises Mike Dudbridge National Centre for Food Manufacturing

The Schedule Certification audits against Issue 6 will begin in January Factories will start to pick up minor and major non-conformances and recommendations as the new standard becomes recognised and implemented. Factories will be anticipating and responding to areas of weakness.

Key features of the new Issue 6: Continued use of the terms “adequate” and “sufficient” Increased emphasis on good manufacturing practices Reduced need for multiple customer audits More detailed prescriptive requirements around key issues to improve consistency of the audits Outcome based statements of intent Enhanced unannounced audit scheme - making this more accessible New auditor training to ensure consistent BRC audit approach

Implications for Food Factory Design. Increased emphasis on good manufacturing practices – –Storage and segregation –Temperature control during manufacture –Product flow and usability of spaces –Control of WIP –Pest Control and pest proofing –Cleaning and building damage controls.

More detailed prescriptive requirements around key issues to improve consistency Process dependant Material dependant Calibration, control and monitoring Controlled storage conditions.

New auditor training to ensure consistent BRC audit approach Sharing of good practice between auditors Sharing of design issues between auditors