BRCGS Global Standard Issue 8

The BRCGS Global Standard for Food Safety Issue 8 requires a Food Safety Management System to be compliant in 4 key areas:

  • Senior Management Commitment
  • A HACCP/Food Safety Plan
  • A Quality Management System
  • Prerequisite Programmes

The BRCGS Global Standard for Food Safety Issue 8 requirements are in 9 Sections

  1. Senior Management Commitment
  2. The Food Safety Plan – HACCP
  3. Food Safety and Quality Management System
  4. Site Standards
  5. Product Control
  6. Process Control
  7. Personnel
  8. High-Risk, High-Care and Ambient High-Care Production Risk Zones
  9. Requirements for Traded Products

Sections 1 to 3 are self-explanatory, Sections 4 to 8 cover Prerequisite Programmes and Section 9 is specific to Traded Products and may not be applicable.

The requirements BRCGS Global Standard for Food Safety Issue 8 deemed fundamental are:

  • Senior management commitment and continual improvement (1.1)
  • The food safety plan – HACCP (2)
  • Internal audits (3.4)
  • Management of suppliers of raw materials and packaging (3.5.1)
  • Corrective and preventive actions (3.7)
  • Traceability (3.9)
  • Layout, product flow and segregation (4.3)
  • Housekeeping and hygiene (4.11)
  • Management of allergens (5.3)
  • Control of operations (6.1)
  • Labelling and pack control (6.2)
  • Training: raw material handling, preparation, processing, packing and storage areas (7.1)

These requirements are essential to an effective food safety operation, failure to address any of these areas effectively would result in a fail during a certification audit.