Other audits
A number of organisations - external to individual
supermarkets - have developed codes of practice. Real IPM Company can help you
with pre-audits to help ensure successful compliance.
British Retail Consortium
The BRC Technical Standard was developed by UK supermarket
retailers to assist them in their fulfillment of legal obligations and
protection of the consumer. In 2003 the standard was renamed the BRC Global
Standard - Food.
This standard is recognised by the majority of UK
supermarket retailers and is being increasingly used by foodservices companies
to approve suppliers. In many instances it is can be a pre-condition to supply
certain customers. Food manufacturers are also using this standard as a basis of
supplier approval. There are BRC accredited companies in many countries in the
EU and as far away as Canada, Brazil and Thailand. The scheme is often referred
to as BRC Accreditation.
One of its initial advantages was that it could reduce the
number of food safety audits by each retailer and allow technologists to
concentrate on other areas such as product development or specific quality
issues. In practice, supermarkets may also insist on their own audits, or apply
other codes of best practice in addition to the BRC standard.
EFSIS
There is also another standard known as EFSIS which is not
exactly the same as the BRC standard but it does incorporate all the BRC
requirements. The EFSIS standard lists an additional 15 requirements at
foundation level, 3 at higher level and a further 18 recommendations. The
contents are also structured in a different order to the BRC standard. Both the
BRC and the EFSIS standards are widely used and equally accepted in the food
industry.
The Real IPM pre-BRC audit can help if you are:
. developing a quality system which meets the BRC
Global Standard - Food or EFSIS standard
. updating your BRC / EFSIS system
. preparing for your next audit
. help on the day of your audit
ETI - Ethical Trading Initiative
At the core of any company's ethical sourcing policy is a
set of labour standards - usually encapsulated in a code of practice - that they
expect their suppliers to comply with. However the standards adopted vary from
company to company, both in terms of the issues they cover, and in terms of how
stringent the standard is for a particular issue.
Increasingly, however, those involved in ethical trade,
including ETI, recognise International Labour Organisation (ILO) standards as an
international benchmark for labour codes.
ETI has a 'Base Code' against which labour practices can be
measured. The Base Code and Principles of Implementation have two related
functions:
. They provide a basic philosophy or platform from
which ETI identifies and develops good practice
. They provide a generic standard for company
performance.
If you are concerned to demonstrate that your labour
practices meet ETI recommendations then the Real IPM pre-audit can help identify
strengths and weaknesses and make recommendations for compliance.
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