10 Ways Freshware ERP Software Can Help BRC Certification
In this article we look at how Freshware ERP from Affinitus Group can help your fresh produce organisation successfully meet the 10 fundamental requirements of a BRC audit.
What is BRC Certification?
As a grower, packer, or processor of fresh produce, you will want to ensure your brand values encompass the highest food safety and quality control promises. Certification to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) Global Standard for Food Safety scheme will communicate to your customers and consumers that you take food safety and quality seriously. Indeed, it is more than likely a non-negotiable requirement to maintain your supply contracts with supermarkets and retail outlets.
Developed by the British Retail Consortium, the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety covers food safety and management of product quality in food packing and processing operations. This certification helps promote consistency across the supply chain for food and ingredient manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors. It was the first food safety standard benchmarked by GFSI, and over 15,000 suppliers in over 100 countries have gained BRC certification.
The BRC food safety standard can be used by any food and produce processing operation where open food is handled, processed or packed, and also offers a standard for produce distribution or storage operations. BRC standards do not cover pre-farm gate growing operations. BRC certification is based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), a documented quality management system and control of factory environmental standards, product, process and personnel.
BRC Audits and ERP Solutions
A successful BRC audit outcome relies on the demonstration and verification of documented, repeatable, reliable processes for ensuring the safety and quality of your goods, such as HACCP, traceability, and raw materials or packaging management.
The benefits of using an ERP solution to manage a fresh produce business are many, and the decision to implement an ERP solution, and the selection of the correct ERP vendor can be transformational for your business.
One of the benefits of implementing an end-to-end ERP business management solution, such as Freshware, is that ERP solutions by default collect vast amounts of data as your product progresses along its journey to its destination. Real-time data driven ERP solutions will electronically collect such data and remove the need for paper-based record keeping and manual data entry, making the collation and recall of any data required for a BRC audit an easy task.
Let’s look at the way Freshware ERP will aid the 10 fundamental requirements of a BRC audit………
10 Fundamentals of a BRC Audit and how Freshware ERP can help.
1. Senior management commitment:
To create an effective food safety culture, the commitment of senior management is necessary. That commitment includes leadership of food safety in general and, specifically, participation in audit meetings. Senior management leaders are also responsible for non-conformities related to the audit’s findings.
Similarly, an organisation’s senior leadership team would have been key in driving the successful implementation of an ERP solution, from selection and setting out the project goals, to deciding the solution requirements and ensuring sufficient resources and budget are available.
With such a top-down, invested and engaged leadership ethos in place, an organisation will find this element of BRC audit second nature.
2. Food safety plans:
Companies must have an effective and fully implemented plan that incorporates HACCP principles.
Any ERP process can easily incorporate requirements for checking and recording HACCP information. Such as; production line start up checks, tool checks, weight checks, allergen management, supplier certifications, warehouse or packhouse management procedures and quality control checks.
3. Internal audits:
Companies need to ensure the robustness and compliance of their food safety plans through internal audits, conducted by the company or an independent auditor.
Process data to be verified as part of any internal audit will be recorded, stored, collated, and reported upon directly from the ERP solution, replacing time consuming labour-intensive manual paper-based collation and presentation techniques.
4. Management of raw materials and packaging:
Raw materials that are received onsite as part of the production/manufacturing process must come from approved sources and be continually monitored, for possible foreign bodies.
Freshware ERP provides electronic QC data collection at the point of raw material intake, recording produce attributes, recording check results, and assigning a RAG quality status, along with a recorded put away location in the warehouse.
The software can also be integrated with other critical packhouse or processing equipment, such as washers and graders, to record further QC attributes on the incoming raw materials as they are processed.
In addition, the Freshware ERP solution will also manage packaging inventories in the same way it manages raw materials inventories, recording which packaging was used for which production job, checking it’s the correct packaging & labelling, and recording how much packaging was consumed.
Furthermore, Freshware includes a supplier certification portal where documentation on all supplier’s certification status’ can be recorded, maintained, and presented as necessary.
5. Corrective and preventive actions:
During a BRC Audit, a fresh produce company needs to show that they make corrections and prevent recurrence of any food safety failures. Non-conformities at the site must be subjected to corrective action, including those identified by product testing and QA tests. Full documentation of each non-conformity and the subsequent corrective actions taken must be recorded.
The Freshware ERP solution provides a full complaints management module, for the recording of communications, documentation, and actions from receipt to resolution.
In addition, the Freshware quality control modules automatically trigger product quarantine procedures in the event of a QC test failure or Red RAG Status and provide for a positive release despatch process ensuring only QC passed product is available for despatch/loading.
6. Traceability:
Companies need to have traceability systems in place from raw material to production/processing to distribution. Traceability is also a good risk management tool for manufacturers that help them recall or withdraw products in the event a product has been determined to be unsafe. Full traceability should be achievable in four hours and identify the suppliers used and how much product was in a specific batch/consignment. The site is required to take a traceability test at a minimum, annually.
Freshware ERP electronically collects traceability data at a batch or lot level. At every stage of the process data is recorded for raw material intake, QC, stock management, production consumption and output, despatch, and proof of delivery. This enables a full traceability picture to be built and electronically presented on demand, in minutes, well within the four-hour deadline.
7. Layout, product flow and segregation:
A plant or facility’s layout and flow should be set up to protect product integrity and prevent contamination, including physical contamination.
Freshware ERP enables warehouse management rules to be set up ensuring products are stored in pre-allocated locations, removing any contamination risk, and prevents raw material being used which does not meet the requirements of the customer it is being prepared for.
Furthermore, Freshware can check the use by and/or best before dates of raw materials before consumption, on a first in first out basis, ensuring that the best available quality of raw material is used.
8. Management of allergens:
Companies must have a system for managing and minimizing risks related to allergens.
Our Product Specifications Module, now available within our Freshware ERP solution, provides a single repository to manage all food labelling, documentation, and compliance requirements, including those required for Natasha’s Law.
The Product Specifications module aims to simplify the generation of ingredient declarations by allowing additives, allergens, nutritional, risk and other certification information to be added to your existing ingredients data. This is fully integrated within the ERP database, so there is no need for double-entry or complex interfacing to third party solutions.
9. Labelling and pack control:
Products shall be correctly labelled and coded.
Label Verification is a time and labour-intensive process that is required at multiple points during the fresh produce packing process. Failure to properly label and code packed, or processed, goods is a common cause of recalls and product withdraws.
The Freshware ERP solution can include an innovative AI-Based label verification solution which can check any labelling information against a centrally stored repository. Labels can be checked in seconds for conformance against client and product specific labelling requirements, including, country of origin, picked from location, product description, best before date, display until date, product class, destination customer, special offers and allergen advice.
Label check results are stored electronically against each batch for traceability and audit purposes.
10. Training:
Companies must take steps to assure that all personnel are equipped to safely do their job, including proper training.
Using an end-to-end data driven ERP solution will promote employee productivity, efficiency, and accuracy, along with assurances that required procedures are followed with onscreen user instructions, and data driven process execution.
The ERP solution will ensure personnel are equipped to do their job, and ERP user training will ensure they know the correct processes to be followed.
Freshware in Action
Watch a case study on how Freshware helped TH Clements achieve a successful BRC audit.
Get in touch to book your Freshware demonstration or discuss your requirements further.