Each year our Dunbia sites undergo a BRCGS audit, but what does it mean for our sites to be BRC approved?
The BRC Global Standard for Food Safety Certification gives our brand an internationally recognised certification and provides assurance to our customers that our product is safe, legal and of high quality.
Announced audits are carried out every 12 months, unannounced audits are usually carried out within the last 4 months of an annual cycle. Unannounced audits have become more favourable in recent years as they have had a positive impact by improving the site’s Food Safety Culture and by also enabling sites to always be audit ready. In normal circumstances, almost 60% of our sites opt for an unannounced audit, however, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic all audits carried out within the past 12 months have been announced.
The BRCGS grade achieved depends on 3 outcomes; the number and type of non-conformances received and whether the audit was announced or unannounced. The highest grade achievable is AA+ which means that 5 or less non-conformances were received and that the audit was unannounced. Unannounced grades are differentiated by the addition of a plus (+) after the grade.
For a BRCGS Audit to be successful, a multi-disciplinary approach is required. While the Food Safety Department takes the lead during an audit, the results we have achieved over the last number of years could not have been accomplished without the ongoing support and co-operation from all departments within the business.
In Q1 2021, 4 Dunbia sites underwent BRCGS audits and achieved fantastic results:
- Dunbia Cross Hands (AA)
- Dunbia West Devon (AA)
- Dunbia Preston Primary (A)
- Dunbia Carnaby (A)
