Free BRC Audit Checklists

In this article

• Why is BRC Audit Important?
• What Does British Retail Consortium Focus On?
• What is a BRC Audit Checklist?
• What Does a BRC Audit Checklist Include?
• How to Prepare for a BRC Audit
• FAQs About BRC Food Safety
• Performing Food Safety Audits Using SafetyCulture (formerly iAuditor)
• Top Digital BRC Food Safety Audit Checklists

Why is BRC Audit Important?

The BRC has recently released the latest version of their auditing code, Issue 9, and audits in accordance with it began on February 1st, 2023. Gaining certification will prove that the business is operating according to a recognized international standard for food safety. Being certified will also be advantageous for businesses as it can make partnerships move likely with other businesses that recognize or even require BRC certification.

What Does British Retail Consortium Focus On?

The latest version of BRC, issue 9, emphasizes the importance of creating a culture of safety and striving for continuous improvement. To achieve those standards, this plan requires open communication on product safety, consistent employee training, rich insights and observed behavior changes from employees, better performance measurement that focuses on safety, and an effort to promote a culture of excellence that aims to always raise the quality of products and processes.

In detail, issue 9 highlights the following requirements:

1. Management commitment – leaders of companies should help ensure the implementation and continuous improvement of food safety processes
2. HACCP (food safety plan) – implementing HACCP can help identify and manage risks in food production
3. Food safety and quality management system – proper documentation of processes in place helps manage the safety of food production and keep staff properly informed
4. Site standards – setting and maintaining the ideal site for food production
5. Product control – setting controls in place such as allergen management and product testing
6. Process control – this is ensuring that the documented HACCP plan is consistently followed to maintain product quality
7. Personnel – ensure that employees are trained, wearing PPE, and following proper hygiene
8. High Risk, High Care, and Ambient High Care Production Risk Zones – ensure that products susceptible to pathogen contamination have control measures to improve safety
9. Traded Products – ensure sites that purchase and sell food products properly process and pack them to avoid contamination

The BRC certification process involves a third party audit on-site where all parts of the requirements are assessed. Depending on the assessed grade a re-certification audit will be required every 6 or 12 months.

What is a BRC Audit Checklist?

A BRC audit checklist is a tool that food manufacturing businesses can use to perform regular inspections in preparation for a certification audit. With a comprehensive audit checklist, food manufacturers can proactively spot non-conformance, determine unsafe food production methods, or identify areas of improvement and immediately correct them to comply with the current BRC standards.

What Does a BRC Audit Checklist Include?

Since each BRC clause has a specific set of requirements, they should be reflected in a BRC audit checklist. Aside from key details such as site name, location, date of inspection, and signature of auditor, they should include the following:

Clause 1 – Management Commitment

• Senior management commitment and continual improvement
• Organizational structure, responsibilities, and management authority

Clause 2 – The Food Safety Plan: HACCP

• The HACCP food safety team
• Prerequisite programs
• Describing the product
• Identifying intended use
• Constructing a process flow diagram
• Verifying flow diagram
• Listing of potential hazards associated with each process step
• Determining the critical control points (CCPs)
• Establishing validated critical limits, monitoring systems, and corrective action plans for each CCP
• Validating the HACCP plan and establish verification procedure
• HACCP documentation and record-keeping

Clause 3 – Food Safety and Quality Management System

• Food safety and quality manual
• Document control
• Record completion and maintenance
• Internal audits
• Supplier and raw material approval and performance monitoring
• Raw material and packaging acceptance, monitoring and management procedures
• Management of suppliers of services
• Management of outsourced processing
• Specifications
• Corrective and preventive actions
• Control of non-conforming product
• Traceability
• Complaint-handling
• Management of incidents, product withdrawal and product recall

Clause 4 – Site Standards

• External standards and site security
• Food Defence
• Layout, product flow, and segregation
• Building fabric, raw material handling, preparation, processing, packing, and storage areas
• Utilities – water, ice, air, and other gases
• Equipment
• Maintenance
• Staff facilities
• Chemical and physical product contamination control
• Foreign-body detection and removal equipment
• Housekeeping and hygiene
• Waste and waste disposal
• Management of surplus food and products for animal feed
• Pest management
• Storage Facilities
• Dispatch and Transport

Clause 5 – Product Control

• Product design/development
• Product labelling
• Management of allergens
• Product authenticity, claims, and chain of custody
• Product packaging
• Product inspection, on-site product testing, and laboratory analysis
• Product release
• Pet food and animal feed
• Animal primary conversion

Clause 6 – Process Control

• Control of operations
• Labelling and pack control
• Quantity – weight, volume, and number control
• Calibration, control of measuring, and monitoring devices

Clause 7 – Personnel

• Training
• Personal hygiene
• Medical screening
• Protective clothing

Clause 8 – Production Risk Zones

• Layout, product flow, and segregation in high-risk, high-care, and ambient high-care zones
• Building fabric, equipment and maintenance, staff facilities, housekeeping and hygiene, waste and waste disposal, and protective clothing in high-risk and high-care zones

Clause 9 – Traded Products

• The food safety plan – HACCP
• Approval and performance monitoring of manufacturers/packers of traded food products
• Specifications
• Product inspection and laboratory testing
• Product legality
• Traceability

How to Prepare for a BRC Audit

Since there are a lot of information and details to take into consideration to ensure an effective BRC audit, take note of the following tips:

• Prepare proper documentation and records that prove the consistent implementation of food safety management. This will show that a business is indeed meeting the requirements to get certified for the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety
• Review and be familiar with the latest BRC version
• Conduct internal audits in order to identify gaps and improve on them
• Get in touch with a third-party auditor who will conduct the BRC audit for certification
• Leverage new technology such as software and digital checklists to perform audits