Consumer Products
Introduction
The Standard was developed to assist retailers fulfil their legal
obligations and to protect the consumer by providing a common basis
for certification of companies supplying Consumer (non-food) Products.
The intention is to promote best practice across the supply chain,
which will in turn provide critical elements of the manufacturer's
due diligence system.
Included within the standard are the fundamental principles of
the retailers' own specifications. It will be subject to continuous
review to ensure that the requirements of both retailers and their
suppliers are accurately reflected.
Scope
The Standard sets out the requirements for the product safety, legality
and quality of consumer products. These requirements shall be applied
at the point of manufacture and subsequent storage and distribution
prior to delivery to the retailer or customer. Staff health and
safety, environmental or ethical issues are not addressed within
its scope.
The application of the standard is also not intended as a replacement
for any legislation, where this legislation requires a higher standard
for a specific industry sector, and will supplement existing product
testing programmes to provide a better understanding of performance
and commitment.
Requirements
The standard requires the adoption and implementation of a hazard
analysis, a documented and effective quality management system,
and the effective control of factory environment standards, product,
process and personnel. Typical areas covered by the Standard are:
- Quality Management System
- Factory Environment and Facilities
- Product and Stock Control
- Process Control
- Personnel Hygiene & Training
Benefits
There are a number of benefits arising from the implementation of
the BRC Consumer Products standard, which include:
- Adoption of a single standard and protocol designed to replace
multiple and varying customer specifications.
- This also allows evaluation to be carried out by a single, internationally
recognised, Certification Body, accredited against the European
standard EN 45011 (ISO/IEC Guide 65)
- The evaluation commissioned by the supplier will allow them
to report upon their status to all customers recognising the Standard.
- The Standard is comprehensive in scope covering all areas of
product safety and legality and also reflects industry "best
practice".
- Third Party certification of controls and systems will address
part of the United Kingdom due diligence requirements of both
the supplier and the customer.
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