High Hygiene Category BRC Internal Audit ( Section 1) Version 6

1.1 Senior Management commitment and continual improvement<br>1.1.1 The site shall have a documented policy which states the site's intention to meet its obligations to produce safe and legally compliant products to the specified quality, and confirms its responsibility to its customers. This shall be:<br>1) signed by the person with overall responsibility for the site<br>2) communicated to all staff.

1.1.1 The site shall have a documented policy which states the site's intention to meet its obligations to produce safe and legally compliant products to the specified quality, and confirms its responsibility to its customers. This shall be:<br>1) signed by the person with overall responsibility for the site<br>2) communicated to all staff. (Clause effective from 1 February 2021)

1.1.3 The site's senior management shall establish clear objectives to maintain and improve the quality, safety and legality of products manufactured, in accordance with the site's product safety and quality policy and this Standard. These objectives shall be: 1) Documented and include targets of clear measures of success <br>2) Clearly communicated to relevant staff 3) monitored, and the results reported at a suitable predetermined frequency to the site's senior management

1.1.4 The company's senior management shall provide the human and financial resources required for the production of safe packaging material, to the required quality, and in compliance with the requirements of this standard

1.1.5 The company's senior management shall have a system in place to ensure that the site is kept informed of and reviews.<br>1) Scientific and technical developments<br>2) Industry codes of practice<br>3) All relevant legislation applicable in the country of manufacture and, where known the country where the product will be used.<br>Products shall meet the minimum legal requirements in the country of manufacture and of use where known.

1.1.6 The site shall have a genuine, original hard copy or electronic version of the current Standard and be aware of any changes to the Standard or protocol that are published on the BRCGS website.

1.1.7 Where the site is certificated to the standard, it shall ensure that re-certification audits occur on or before the audit due date indicated on the certificate.

1.1.8 The most senior production or operations manager on site shall participate in the opening and closing meetings of the audit for certification to the standard. Relevant departmental managers or their deputies shall be available as required during the audit.

1.1.9 The site's senior management shall ensure that the root causes of any non-conformities identified at the previous audit against the standard have been effectively addressed to prevent recurrence.

1.1.10 The BRCGS logo and references to certification status shall be used only in accordance with the conditions of use detailed in the audit protocol section (Part iii, section 5.6).

1.2 Management Review<br>1.2.1 Management review meetings attended by the site's management shall be undertaken at appropriate scheduled intervals (at a minimum annually) to review the site's performance against the standard and the objectives set out in clause 1.1.3.

1.2.2 The review process shall include the evaluation of:<br>1) previous management review documents, action plans, and time frames<br>2) Results of internal, second-party, and third-party audits<br>3) Customer performance indicators, complaints, and feedback<br>4) the effectiveness of the hazard and risk management (HARM) system.<br>5) the impact of any applicable legislative and certification scheme changes<br>6) any incidents, corrective actions, out-of-specification results and non-conforming materials<br>7) resource requirements<br>8) any objectives that have not been met, to understand the underlying reasons. This in formation shall be used when setting future objectives and to facilitate continual improvement. 9) the effectiveness of the product defense and product fraud prevention plans

1.2.3 The meeting shall be documented and used to revise the objectives. The decisions and actions agreed within the review process shall be effectively communicated to appropriate staff, and actions implemented within agreed timescales.

1.2.4 The site shall have a demonstrable system in place which enables product safety, legality, and quality issues to be brought to the attention of designated manager. The system shall allow for the resolution of issues requiring immediate action.

1.3 Organizational structure, responsibilities and management authority.<br>1.3.1 The site shall have a current organization chart demonstrating the management structure and reporting channels of the company.<br>The responsibilities for the management of activities which ensure product safety, quality, and legality shall be clearly allocated and understood by the managers responsible. It shall be clearly documented who deputizes in the absence of the responsible person.

1.3.2 The site's senior management shall ensure that all employees are aware of their responsibilities. Where documented work instructions exist for activities undertaken, the relevant employees shall have access to these and be able to demonstrate that work is carried out in accordance with the instructions