Gimme five for clarity, says the BRC

Version five of the British Retail Consortium (BRC) global standard will provide far greater clarity for manufacturers and auditors so that it is interpreted more consistently in future, the BRC has promised.

"We've got 7,000 certified manufacturers and hundreds of auditors and certification bodies. It's an inherent recipe for variability," said Dr Geoff Spriegel, BRC director for global standards and technical services. "The new version spells everything out, which should significantly reduce that variability."

Version five - published on Christmas Eve - also contains expanded sections on allergen management, site security, incident management and contamination control, plus a new option enabling manufacturers to subscribe for unannounced audits. Those achieving good results would get a star against their A, B or C grades, said Spriegel.

Product categories have also been better aligned with fields of audit. This would ensure that auditors were properly trained to assess the manufacturing environments they visited.

"Currently, we don't distinguish between different technologies involved in production of foods," he said. "Take pasta: the technologies and therefore the training requirements for auditors might be very different for fresh pasta and dry pasta production."

The latest standard was "less UK-centric" in a bid to attract a more international audience, he said. "We've had a lot of interest from retailers in Scandinavia, Australia and South Africa, but there are also opportunities in countries like Malaysia."

The development of a new electronic database of accredited manufacturers and certification bodies would prove to be an invaluable resource over time, he added. It could also become a powerful tool for spotting trends and a means of rapid communication in the event of a food scare.