Verification of the requirements for implementation of the British Retail Consortium (BRC) Global Standard for Food Safety in a company of fresh and frozen fish

The food industry and the government share the responsibility to ensure that food provided to the consumer is safe and does not become a vehicle in a disease outbreak. Furthermore, the responsibility extends to ensuring that consumer expectations are met, and that food is unadulterated, prepared in a clean environment, and honestly presented. Therefore, the base is to provide a system of prevention and overlapping safeguards designed to minimize foodborne illness; ensure employee health, industry manager knowledge, safe food, nontoxic, cleanable equipment, and acceptable levels of sanitation on food establishment premises. In this context, the certification of an internationally recognized Food Safety Management System (FSMS) is one of the most effective methods to ensure the effectiveness of processes related to food safety and quality, maintaining all the preventions cited above. Consequently, also there are results in the increasing of the costumer´s confidence, in the global market competitiveness and ensure the continuous improvement. The aim of this work was the theorical evaluation of a Fresh and Frozen Fish or Fishery Products Company for certification in the British Retail Consortium (BRC) Food Safety Standard, Issue 8. Along the dissertation were discussed all the referential requirements and the actions taken to fulfill them, seeking the production of safe, legal and quality food. First, the Food Safety and Quality Management Systems were contextualized, namely their evolution and development. After, the HACCP plan was verified, observing that under the Fish and Fishery Products regulation every process is required to perform a hazard analysis, and must have and implement a written HACCP Plan. In this context, the system was reviewed on site, the facilities, industrial machines, process, procedures, records, among other things, the adequacy of corrective actions according to Standard. At present, the company could not to obtain the certification, because major nonconformities were found. They are around the issues about Food Defence and Food Fraud Systems. Thereafter, the corrective actions and changes that shall take place were drawn up, in accordance with the identified needs in order to meet the requirements of the Standard.