BRC-IoP and FSSC22000 INTRODUCTION

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) worked together with the Institute of Packaging (IoP) to develop the BRC/IoP for Packaging Standard. It was designed to assist packaging manufacturers adopt good manufacturing practices and support quality management systems to develop and manufacture safe, legal packaging materials that meet customer’s quality requirements.

The standard consists of 6 chapters:
1. Senior Management Commitment and Continual Improvement
2. Hazard and Risk Management System
3. Technical Management Systems
4. Site Standards
5. Product and Process Control
6. Personnel

The standard is applicable to manufacturers producing packaging materials for food and consumer products. The packaging industry is divided into specific product technologies including:

• Glass
• Paper and Board
• Metals – cans and foil products
• Plastics
• Wood and other materials

Auditors must have knowledge and experience of these particular technologies in order to be registered. We have industry leading auditors with various technical backgrounds to meet your specific needs.

The Standard recognizes 3 levels of hygiene risk depending on the end use of the particular packaging material. Any packaging coming in direct contact with food is considered the highest level 1 while cardboard packaging that contains a sealed item would be less critical. The requirements of the standard are itemized separately depending upon the level.

Managing Food Safety for Packaging
Suppliers of packaging materials to the food industry must ensure that their products are safe from contaminants throughout the manufacturing process. Therefore, the Safe Supply of Affordable Food Everywhere (SSAFE) sponsored the development of The Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 223 designed to address prerequisite programs (PRPs) of food safety for food and beverage design and manufacture. PAS 223 was developed to be used with ISO 22000, the food safety management system standard. It specifies requirements to help manufacturers control contamination in the process and manufacture of packaging materials.

Based on input from the world’s leading food manufacturers, PAS 223 has, as its core objective, to manage and mitigate packaging risks. As many of these organizations work to provide safe, quality food and beverages for consumption, it became clear that the same intense focus must be given to the packaging that surrounds those products.

Benefits

• Reduction of audits
• Increased control and transparency of processes
• Increased confidence from stakeholders
• Reduced risk
• Increased cost savings
• Improved supply chain management

With attention given to recent food scares in Europe and Asia, suppliers of packaging materials will need to provide evidence of conformity to existing legal requirements, as well as, customer requirements.

http://brcstandards.com/packaging/