Revisit Section One of the BRCGS Global Food Safety Standard, Issue 9, as we share expert advice from four of the leading voices in the food production industry. 

Issue 9 of the BRCGS Global Food Safety Standard is recognised by thousands of food production sites across the globe.

If your own factory is audited against BRCGS, engaging with every aspect of the latest standard is absolutely vital. Otherwise, it will be near impossible to secure audit compliance and to effectively drive standards of food safety.

To provide support as you move forward with your audit preparations, we decided to take a closer look at a key area of the standard: Section 1, Senior Management Commitment.

There are four experts highlighted in this article, covering four key clauses. Although there are valuable learnings in each section, you can also use the links below to jump to the clause most relevant to your site.

Contents:

Clause 1.1.2: Food Safety and Quality Culture

Clause 1.1.6: Reporting Concerns

Clause 1.1.12: Identifying Root Causes

Clause 1.2.2: Operative Awareness

Clause 1.1.2

Clause 1.1.2 outlines the expectation that a site’s senior management team will “define and maintain a clear plan for the development and continuing improvement of a food safety and quality culture.” According to the standard, this plan needs to include a list of measures that will help to achieve a positive culture change. 

Advice from Reineke van Riemsdijk:

Reineke van Riemsdijk has over fifteen years experience specialising in sustainability, auditing, quality, and safety management. Working in the food production industry, along with the retail sector, Reineke is passionate about building relationships and empowering individuals to reach their full potential.

When it comes to developing or establishing a positive culture at your site, Reineke believes in setting positive objectives. In the video above, taken from a webinar on The Power of Positive Energy, she raises the following points:

  • Setting targets in response to the failings of your site will lead to a negative culture, with operatives afraid of failure instead of being motivated to strive for continuous improvement.
  • Responding to failure instead of opportunities for improvement will only ever lead to temporary results. Because of this, you will never be able to secure the predictable and repeatable outcomes that are so essential to food safety culture.
  • It is important that everyone at your site understands the purpose behind the measures you are taking, engaged in the process, as opposed to blindly agreeing out of a fear of failure.
  • Setting positive objectives will nurture a positive energy across your site, improving the likelihood of success. The operatives at your site are more likely to engage with the measures you are taking if they are curious, interested, and optimistic.
Learn more about the Power of Positive Energy

Clause 1.1.6

This clause addresses the process of site staff “report[ing] concerns relating to product safety, authenticity, legality and quality”, stressing the importance of confidentiality. 

Advice from Alec Kyriakides:

The former Head of Product Quality, Safety and Supplier Performance for Sainsbury’s, Alec Kyriakides sits on a number of industry and government committees, and chairs the BRCGS International Advisory Board. Alec is also an Independent Food Safety Consultant and the author of several books on the management of food borne pathogens.

Speaking at the Food Safety Innovation Conference 2024, a collaborative event from Klipspringer and FoodClean, Alec Kyriakides responded to a question on the topic of making food safety relevant to front line operatives.

Alec stressed that “if concerns raised by operatives about food safety compliance challenges are ignored, non-compliance may be implicitly endorsed.’

For Alec, the solution is to ensure good practice is continuously recognised and reinforced under the principle of: what gets measured, gets done.

If management fails to pay attention to food safety practices when observing or talking with colleagues, there is a danger that individuals will come to believe such practices are not important. Alternatively, if management displays a consistent commitment to food safety, especially when handling reported concerns, the importance of food safety messages will be diluted.

Explore the other questions asked at the Food Safety Conference

Clause 1.1.12

Clause 1.1.12 of the BRCGS Global Food Safety Standard asks that “senior management shall ensure that the root causes of any non-conformities against the Standard at the previous audit have been effectively addressed to prevent recurrence.”

Advice from Foram Mehta:

Cleaning Equipment Disinfectant

Foram Mehta is the former Global Standards Technical Manager at BRCGS – a leading brand and consumer protection organisation that operates a rigorous third party certification scheme, with its highly trained auditors setting the benchmark for good manufacturing practice. Foram is an expert in the latest standard and the specifications it contains. 

In a BRCGS webinar covering the top non-conformities surrounding Issue 9 of the Global Food Safety Standard, Foram explored the role of root cause analysis:

Foram’s first recommendation was to review the BRGS guide to root cause analysis. This comprehensive guide is hosted on the Participate Platform and is available to all certificated sites.

Foram also highlighted The Five Whys Technique, which is essentially the process of asking ‘why?’ until you have identified the true root cause of a non-conformity.

  • A brush bristle made its way into a product. Why?
  • An operative was using the brush and a bristle came loose. Why?
  • The brush was old and had degraded over time. Why?
  • The last equipment inspection was missed and the brush had been stored incorrectly. Why?
  • The current storage is unsuitable and it’s unclear who is responsible for the inspections. Why?
  • Solution: The site needs to establish a clear chain of command and invest in proper storage.
Learn more about the top non-conformities so far

Clause 1.2.2

Finally, Clause 1.2.2 of the BRCGS Global Food Safety Standard asks that senior management “ensure all staff are aware of their responsibilities and demonstrate that work is carried out in accordance with documented site policies, procedures, work instructions and existing practices for activities undertaken.” It’s important to note that all staff are expected to have access to the relevant documentation.

Advice from Alex Carlyon:

Alex Carlyon is Klipspringer’s Key Account Director. For over 20 years, Klipspringer has helped thousands of food and beverage production sites to secure final product integrity and compliance with confidence. As the leading food safety partner for businesses across the UK and Ireland, Klipspringer has developed a wide range of products and services.

In a Klipspringer webinar exploring the Retention and Engagement of Hygiene Teams, Alex discussed the challenge of sustaining good practice. He highlighted the following action points:

  • Across all areas of your site, you need to make it easy for your operatives to do the right thing. As outlined in Clause 1.2.2, your team needs to be aware of their responsibilities. However, they also need to be able to carry out their duties without any major obstacles slowing them down, making their jobs harder, or undermining their efforts.
  • The next step is to ensure you are adaptable to the different challenges and opportunities you are presented with. You also need to be prepared to listen to the feedback of your operatives, as this will nurture a culture of engagement and enthusiasm.
  • Finally, you need to communicate effectively with the teams working at your site. This could be achieved in a number of ways, ranging from Cleaning Instruction Cards to Visual Management solutions and shadow boards.
Watch the full webinar on engagement and retention

Now that you have heard from four industry experts, we hope you have come away with a better understanding of how to comply with the expectations outlined in Section 1, Issue 9 of the BRCGS Global Food Safety Standard.

If you found this article particularly helpful, you may also want to click here to explore a similar piece on Section 4, Issue 9 of the standard – featuring invaluable advice from Katie Satterthwaite, Phil May, Nigel Church, Alex Carlyon, Foram Mehta, and Kenny Edwards.

Discover expert advice on Issue 9, Section 4 of the standard

If you have any questions relating to the BRCGS Global Food Safety Standard or the products and services that could help you to secure compliance, the Klipspringer team is here to provide support. You can contact us on 01473 461800 or sales@klipspringer.com. Alternatively, you can fill out the contact form below.     

If you would like further support in securing audit compliance, the Klipspringer team would be happy to help. Simply enter your details below to arrange a consultation.