The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has revealed the contents of the newest edition of its Global Standard - Packaging and Packaging Materials Issue 4 - ahead of publication in February.
The BRC’s Global Standards are said to help over 15,000 factories in over 90 countries do business with retailers by enabling them to demonstrate they are achieving the required levels of quality and safety.
The new issue covers packaging for products of all types, both food and non-food. It has been revised to put more emphasis on the need for packaging to be able to do its job at every stage of the supply chain at the same time as meeting legal, hygiene and quality requirements.
Changes to the revised Standard include a preparation and planning section, providing guidance and support for sites new to the certification process; and additional safeguards to reduce the risk of chemical migration, such as by inks, from packaging into food products.
It introduces ‘fundamental’ clauses, relating to systems that are crucial to the establishment and operation of an effective packaging manufacturing operation; a grading scheme based on number and severity of non-conformities; and audit frequencies and processes for corrective action that reflect the company’s audit performance.
It simplifies high risk and low risk product categories, based on the hygiene requirement of the final use of the packaging materials. For example, a food wrapping is high risk, the packaging around a kettle or toaster is low risk.
To allow time for retailers, producers, and certification bodies to become fully familiar with the new requirements and for the BRC to develop support and infrastructure, audits will not start against issue 4 until six months after it is formally published in February 2011.
David Brackston, British Retail Consortium Technical Director, said: “This Standard provides the basis for ensuring that packaging is manufactured in a suitable hygienic environment and that controls are in place to ensure that it does what’s required of it at every stage of its life.”
