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BRC Traceability Requirements & Supply Chain Mapper
Do you currently meet BRC Traceability Requirements? BRC certification is an internationally recognised Quality Assurance standard for the food industry. BRC accreditation demonstrates compliance with it’s standard, which is based upon the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) standards. Third party audits measure site performance against the standard. All audits will be slightly different, they are each unique, but most audits have commonalities. Sites that demonstrate compliance with the standard become accredited.
Version 8 of the BRC standard has 12 fundamental requirements that businesses must demonstrate to gain or maintain accreditation. One of the most complex clauses of the BRC standard is the requirement to provide full traceability of all products.
What are the traceability requirements for Issue 8 of BRC?
Clause 3.9 states that food sites must have a documented traceability procedure detailing how the traceability system works. When the BRC auditor visits sites they will check this documentation is in place and is robust. . The Global Standard Food Safety Issue 8 FAQ section clarifies the meaning and intent of FULL traceability is still the same as Issue 7. The level of evidence is dependent on the supplier, extract from this document below.
- If the raw material supplier is certificated to a GFSI-benchmarked standard, assessment of traceability systems will form part of these audits and therefore no additional action is required
- Where the raw material supplier is audited by the site and the audit includes an assessment of the traceability systems, this would comply with the requirement of clause 3.9.3 as traceability would have been assessed
- If supplier approval is based solely on a questionnaire with no additional testing of the traceability system, additional traceability verification is required. This could be via a test of the raw materials supplier
How Supply Chain Mapper can help with BRC traceability requirements
We are proud to say QADEX customers never have to take a deep breath and gulp when hearing the words BRC Audit!
“Through our tools and expertise we help our customers be audit ready 24/7.”
Stephen Whyte – MD QADEX
Our Supply Chain Mapping tool gives you a cockpit view of your entire supply chain right back to the originating field, pond or fishing vessel of any raw material. It is free for Suppliers to use and helps you identify any areas of risk, putting you back in control of your traceability procedures. Read more here.
Provided as a low cost platform to our customers and free for all of their suppliers, this removes one of the biggest excuses a supplier can offer!
Get up and running in 6 simple steps
- Register to start receiving training emails
- Add your sites
- List your users
- Register your suppliers
- Add the products you source
- Request a map from your suppliers
It is as simple as that!
Not only can you demonstrate compliance to your BRC auditor when under audit, you can share the map with all of your customers.
Click the button below to register.
Supplier Mapping – How to spot Antibiotics Misuse in your supply chain
India was the world’s biggest milk producer between 2018 and 2019, producing a whopping 188 million tonnes.
However, it has become evident through a review by the Centre for Science and Environment that many suppliers in India have been misusing antibiotics. Read on to find out how supplier mapping can eliminate this type of abuse.
“We have found that antibiotics are extensively misused in the dairy sector; antibiotic residues remain largely untested in milk, an integral part of Indian diets, particularly of children”
CSE Director General Sunita Narain
Source; New Food Magazine, 14th September 2020
The World Health Organisation states two scary facts surrounding impacts of antibiotic misuse:
- Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health, food security, and development today, but is hard to uncover.
- Antibiotic resistance occurs naturally, but misuse of antibiotics in humans and animals is accelerating the process.
So we can see why it is so important that we manage this via the supply chain.
The WHO also outlines guidance on how agriculture can improve its processes and turn this problem around:
- Only give antibiotics to animals under veterinary supervision.
- Not use antibiotics for growth promotion or to prevent diseases in healthy animals.
- Vaccinate animals to reduce the need for antibiotics and use alternatives to antibiotics when available.
- Promote and apply good practices at all steps of production and processing.
How can businesses uncover a producer misusing antibiotics?
The answer; supplier mapping UK wide and globally.
This must be done at every tier of the chain to fully understand the provenance of the product.
Food supply food chain management and logistics from farm to fork, managed through supply chain mapping tools will provide the required transparency.
If a food safety alert or news story breaks surrounding this area, businesses can see if any of the named suppliers are in their supply chain. Decisions can then be made to either:
- Remove the Supplier/Producer from the supply chain, or
- Begin a Corrective Action.Preventative Action (CAPA) plan.
A collaborative approach is the long term solution, working with suppliers to help them with innovative good practices.
Supplier mapping sounds complicated, but we can help you gain full visibility through our supplier mapping tool.
Can supplier mapping gives full transparency and supports food supply chain management
Food supply food chain management and logistics from farm to fork, managed through supply chain mapping tools will provide the required transparency.
When you undertake supply chain mapping, the biggest challenge you will face is getting enough data from all levels in your supply chain to create and maintain an up-to-date supply chain map.
This is where Supply Chain Mapper can help.
QADEX are a leading provider of Supplier Approval, Risk Management & Specification Management tools and now offer Supply Chain Mapper.
In a few easy steps you will be able to view EXACTLY who is supplying you!
This knowledge is key to supply chain risk management in the food industry as you can proactively check that they are using good practices when it comes to the use of antibiotics.
Deploy supplier mapping for effective food supply chain management
It is so simple to get started, once you register here in a few clicks you’re ready to begin your journey towards full visibility.
Following registration you will receive a series of tutorials and you can access help guides to walk you through the process step by step.
Now you are ready to to start mapping in a few simple steps:
- Add your site(s).
- Enter your users.
- List your suppliers.
- Include the products you source and require a supply chain map for.
- Request a map.
Your suppliers receive an email notification to login and complete your request. This process continues until you have full transparency.
Once completed, the map can be shared multiple times to your Customers saving valuable time.
Are you ready to take the steps towards viewing your food supply chain management and logistics from food to fork?
Supplier mapping as part of your supply chain management strategy.
Most food manufacturers know their top tier suppliers, but struggle to gain full traceability back to source – Supply Chain Mapper makes this easy!