Manufacturers face tougher inspection procedures and higher costs under changes from July 1 to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) Global Standard covering food safety management systems.
Particular emphasis has been put on updating rules on traceability as well as ingredient segregation and handling. The aim is to avoid contamination by other materials -- especially allergens, said Efsis, the inspection and certification company.
Efsis, which has organised a conference to update its clients on the new rules, claimed that the changes would be important when allergen labelling laws come into force next year.
Inspection frequencies have been tightened and poorly performing companies will be subjected to six-monthly rather than annual inspections.
A new grading system has also been introduced and the two previous levels of inspection -- foundation and higher -- have been combined. Inspections will be longer and, as a result, costs will rise by about 15%, according to Efsis's marketing and international operations director Paul Ruocco.
While the BRC Global Food Standard is widely used by supermarkets in the UK and by certification bodies in 23 countries across four continents, it is coming under pressure from an alternative International Food Standard (IFS) elsewhere.
IFS is commonly used in Germany and France and is winning increasing acceptance in Italy, Poland and Spain, claimed Ruocco. "Potentially [the BRC Global Food Standard] could lose out to IFS," he said.
While attempts have been made to achieve an international standard under the Global Food Safety Initiative, Ruocco doubted that agreement would ever be reached.