Technical Information Briefing: BRC Global Standard for Food Safety Issue 7.

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.

What is a vulnerability assessment?

Given events in the food processing industry in 2013 regarding cross-species contamination and controls it is
of little surprise that a significant focus of the new standard is on the issues of authenticity and supplier
management (both contained within the requirement to undertake a formal vulnerability assessment). The
terms VACCP and TACCP have been coined to describe such systems (Vulnerability Assessment or Threat
Analysis Critical Control Point respectively). These techniques are based on well understood and established

Klenzan Ltd
2 Cameron Court, Winwick Quay,
Warrington, WA2 8RE

Tel: - 01925 234696

email: - info@klenzan.co.uk
Web: - www.klenzan.co.uk

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.

Extended risk zone category.

In addition to the high risk and high care zones for frozen and chilled products, there will be introduced a new
risk category with high care requirements for ambient products. All of the companys operating units shall be
divided into zones and represented in a zone plan. What is new is that even non-production areas such as
administration with no contact to the product shall be included in the plans as well.
Additional Voluntary Module.
Provision is being made for retailers to include voluntary modules which can be included as part of the
scheduled BRC audit. Some examples of the modules are the additional module for distribution of finished
products, the Food Defence Module, the module for the use of food for animal feed or a module specific to
ASDA (other specific retailer modules may be developed in future).
Grading of Certificated Sites.
The grading system initially proposed in the consultation document published in mid -2014 has been dropped
and the current A to D grades have remained in place, a new grade of AA has been introduced to indicate
excellence where a certificated site achieves less than 5 minor non-conformities. Those certificated sites
choosing to enter into the Unannounced Audit scheme (either option) will have a + symbol added to their
grading, e.g. AA+.
If you have any questions relating to the consultation exercise by the BRC, then please do not hesitate to
contact your Klenzan Technical Sales Manager or our head-office using the details below.

Peter Littleton
Technical Director
January 7th 2015

Klenzan Ltd
2 Cameron Court, Winwick Quay,
Warrington, WA2 8RE

Tel: - 01925 234696

email: - info@klenzan.co.uk
Web: - www.klenzan.co.uk