Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Introduction.
The British Retail Consortium has now made available the latest version of its Global Standard for Food Safety
(Issue 7) in readiness for full implementation, and auditing against, from July 1st 2015. Through its newly
launched Participate programme (http://www.brcparticipate.com/) both the Global Standard and the
interpretation Guidelines are being made available at the same time.
This guide focuses on the main changes with particular reference to Klenzans area of expertise Hygiene
and Housekeeping and is intended to provide a summary of the requirements.
What has changed?
In the main changes throughout many clauses in the Standard relate to the issues of authenticity and
provenance of the food being processed or presented for sale, however there are also changes relating to the
activities of a hygiene function.
A new clause has been introduced stating that The premises and equipment shall be maintained in a
clean and hygienic condition
The requirement for cleaning procedures has been clarified to apply to processing equipment and
food contact surfaces A requirement for the addition of photography to cleaning procedures has not
been added in this issue.
The sentence The frequency and methods of cleaning shall be based on risk. Has been amended to
include the phrase This shall include the risk from cleaning chemical residues on food contact
surfaces. We believe that this inclusion is linked to the recently introduced legislative limit on the
maximum residual level of QAC compounds permitted in some food (for further details please see the
appropriate Klenzan Technical Information Briefing)
4.11.2 becomes 4.11.3 and has been amended to clarify the definition of when and how to define
limits of acceptability for food contact surfaces.
A requirement that cleaning equipment used in High Care areas is visually distinctive has been added
as well as the requirement for cleaning equipment to be hygienically designed.
The clauses relating to CiP systems have undergone minimal changes with no additional requirements
being made. The primary changes are the word plan to diagram and verification to validation.
Other changes that may be taken to have an impact (either direct or indirect) on hygiene are:
SDS and PI sheets will continue to meet the requirements outlined in Clause 3.6 relating to
specifications.
Chemical control (4.9.1.1) the phrase segregated and secure has been replaced with designated
storage area
Clause 4.4.2 (building fabric) now states that floors ..shall be impervious, maintained in good repair
and facilitate cleaning
Clause 4.7.6 has been amended to state that materials used for equipment and plant maintenance
and that pose a risk of direct or indirect contact such as lubricating oil, shall be food grade and of
known allergen status.
Klenzan Ltd
2 Cameron Court, Winwick Quay,
Warrington, WA2 8RE
Technical Information Briefing: BRC Global Standard for Food Safety Issue 7.
HACCP studies and are the subject of several readily available training sessions most notably from Campden
BRI (www.campdenbri.co.uk)
This technique can also find its origin in the readily available guideline PAS 96 2014 Food & Drink Protection
Guide from the Food Standards Agency (http://www.food.gov.uk/sites/default/files/pas96-2014-food-drinkprotection-guide.pdf) which discuss all aspects of defending the food chain from accidental as well as
fraudulent activity and Klenzan encourages customers to make themselves familiar with this document.
Is there anything else changing that I should be aware of?
New Fundamentals.
Two new Fundamental requirements have been introduced:
Labelling control
o The actual requirements themselves have not undergone major changes, rather the clauses
have been gathered together to address one of the biggest causes of food recall.
Supplier management
o The company shall have an effective supplier approval and monitoring system to avoid any
potential risks from raw materials (including packaging) to the safety, authenticity, legality
and quality of the final product.
Peter Littleton
Technical Director
January 7th 2015
Klenzan Ltd
2 Cameron Court, Winwick Quay,
Warrington, WA2 8RE