BRC Issue 9 Audit Checklist Excel

Issue 9 has officially taken effect and all BRC certified sites and non-certified ones alike must now comply with this new version of auditing standards from February 2023 onwards.

Key differences from issue 8 should be kept in mind, such as an emphasis on culture and the addition of a commitment policy.

Process Controls

Are You Seeking Certification Under BRC Global Standard for Food Safety? Do You Want Advice About How to Prepare for an Audit? If that is the case for you, here is some additional guidance from us that may help in the quest to earn that distinction.

Issue 9 of the standard includes a host of new audit requirements that could potentially have an impactful impact on your business. As with any change, it’s vital that you are informed about them and how they may influence operations and strategy.

Lumiform’s digital BRC food safety checklist can assist your organization in meeting these requirements. Lumiform guides you through each question, documents your answers automatically and creates reports for you – helping you complete BRC audits more quickly and easily, while meeting ever-evolving legal requirements for process documentation. Retailers and restaurants recognize the BRC standard as a quality assurance benchmark, making your company more attractive to potential partners and opening new business opportunities – but preparing for an audit can be daunting!

Root Cause Analysis

Highlighted sections highlight some additions to Issue 9 that were not present in Issue 8. We believe these changes to be in response to non-conformities raised during audits conducted against Issue 8 requirements.

Sites should implement a process for root cause analysis to implement ongoing improvements to product safety, legality and quality while also preventing non-conformities from recurring. Furthermore, this information should be made accessible to relevant staff.

Food manufacturers facing audit to Issue 9 should recognize these as significant changes that should not be neglected. We suggest engineers take advantage of our training on this subject to gain a greater understanding of what should be implemented at their plant to minimize raised nonconformance at audit, as well as ensure a smooth transition to Issue 9. Audits against Issue 9 will start commencing February 1st 2023.

Supplier Management

BRC Food Issue 9 is the new edition of the British Retail Consortium Global Standard for Food Safety. To prepare effectively for an audit audit of this new standard and remain competitive and attractive to potential customers. Certification will also help make your business more cost effective and appealing to new clients.

At any site where certification of compliance with a Standard is being audited, the senior production or operations manager shall take part in both opening and closing meetings for certification purposes. Relevant departmental managers or their deputies shall also be available as required during this audit.

This documentation kit contains a food safety manual, 17 procedures and 89 sample forms for record keeping – making it simple and quick to create a quality and food safety system that satisfies BRC issue 9 requirements quickly and easily. Our editable documents allow you to tailor them according to the needs of your company or organization.

Culture

Culture has been given increased emphasis in the new version of the BRC, and that’s been one of the main changes. Now, management needs to consider how culture impacts everything they do; create a plan and structure for how they’ll implement that plan; then ensure compliance.

Simply stated, this means ensuring an environment for effective communication, consistent training, robust insights into employee behaviors and visible behavioral changes, accurate performance measurements that prioritize safety first and a management team which strives to find ways to enhance efficiency.

Audits to certify to the Standard must include opening and closing meetings attended by the most senior production or operations manager on site, with relevant departmental managers or their deputies present as necessary during an audit. Furthermore, an internal audit program which reviews completed activities must also exist on-site.