COMPLIANCE UPDATE

GFSI Benchmark – 1 in 3 unannounced audits

BRCGS are currently reviewing the GFSI Benchmark 2020.

One of the new requirements of the benchmark is the introduction of 1 unannounced audit every 3 years even where the site has requested announced audits. This will affect audits for the Food, Packaging and Storage & Distribution Standards.

We are currently drafting a procedure for the introduction of this requirement. The expected key dates in this process are: 

  • August 2020 – Publication of the BRCGS procedure
  • February 2021 – Use of the procedure commences for Food and Packaging audits
  • May 2021 – Use of the procedure commences for Storage & Distribution Issue 4 audits.

 

We will keep you updated.

KPI changes

The compliance team have reviewed and updated the reporting format for the report reviews that we undertake. The format is more objective with scoring of detail for specific nominated areas which will be subject to change so we focus on areas where reporting is weakest. This feedback is undertaken during 6 monthly KPIs and during compliance site visits.

The presentation of the KPI performance report for CBs is also under review and we hope to present this in a way that focuses on audit outcomes, management of protocol and auditor competence, and service delivery .  We hope to use this new format for the KPI21 performance reports which we aim to send to CBs by the end of this month.

Future Onsite Compliance Activities

With the rapid changes taking place due to Covid-19, we are currently on a watching brief, country by country to see the possibility of starting up again our ‘usual’ on site compliance visits and witness audits which have been on hold since April.

We are however also looking at long term development of a concept of remote compliance visits. We are currently trialling these and will continue to do so in the coming months.

Remote audits will need some preparation and co-operation from the sites. We envisage that we would be asking for submission of some documentation for review prior to a discussion with the site and a video tour of the site.

We will keep you up to date with our thoughts and of course welcome your input into the discussion.