Revised packaging standard to come into force February 2020
Published in August, Issue 6 of the Global Standard marks the first major update to the BRC Global Standard for Packaging and Packaging Materials since 2015 to improve product safety and quality practices when it comes to the manufacture and printing of packaging materials.
Safety
The revised standard, due to come into force in February 2020, includes several new clauses requiring organisations to take tangible steps to improve the culture of safety and quality at their sites.
These include changes to the Hazard and Risk Analysis, a new environmental monitoring clause, introduction of the Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA), and scrapping the previous two-tier hygiene system in favour of a simpler risk-based approach.
“The manufacture of packaging for the food industry often involves potential harmful materials and processes - whether it’s inks, or coatings that have the potential to migrate into food through to physical/foreign body risks,” said Joy Franks, food market director, Bureau Veritas.
“Issue 6 is a welcome step forward in the evolution of safety, quality and operational criteria throughout the packaging production chain.
“Some of the key requirements will be that certified sites will need to set up, execute and review an action plan to improve product safety and quality. “
CAPA
The new version of the standard includes some specific requirements on corrective and preventive action (CAPA) related to root cause analysis into a structured continuous improvement approach. This emphasizes the importance of addressing issues with the intent to remove the risk of reoccurrence and supporting continuous improvement.
“The upgrade to Issue 6 is set to begin in February 2020, packaging organisations must act now to fully digest the new requirements on audit and certification and ensure compliance,” added Franks.
As a global health and safety and compliance expert, Bureau Veritas has a team of certification professionals to support those in the packaging production industry achieve compliance with BRCGS, includingtraining on the regulatory changes.
