Here at Nim’s we make fruit & vegetable crisps, air dried infusions and edible teas. Delicious products made from fresh fruit & vegetables with no added nasties of any kind. As a food factory, we have regular checks to ensure that we are making sure that food safety expectations and quality are met at every turn.
This is why we are proud of our A Grade BRC Accreditation. It helps build confidence with the customers (ie you) about us, our supply chain and our standards for food safety.
What are the BRC Global Standards?
The BRC is an awarding company that sets extremely high standards for the factories & production facilities in its scheme. The company was founded in 1996 by retailers who wanted to standardise food safety their supply chains. Today they globally recognised across several industries and operate the most rigorous third party certification scheme of its type. Their message is clear;
We have the most rigorous schemes and the highest trained auditors giving you the best results possible.
The reason why we signed onto this scheme was to not only hold us accountable but to help build confidence about our standards for food safety, packaging materials we use, product quality and distribution.
The BRC set the benchmark for good manufacturing practice and we want to let our customers know that our products are safe, legal and of the highest quality.
There are 5 grades in the BRC Scheme; AA, A, B, C and D
We are currently rated as an A Grade facility and have been since 2017. This is an amazing achievement and a testament to the hard work every employee puts into ensuring that we meet this high bar set for us. As we continue we are setting our sights on the ultimate goal of a AA Accredited facility.
So what are the assurances you get from an A Grade?
- Confidence that we are operating an open, transparent and ethical company
- Commitment to produce food products that are made with the highest standards of food safety & quality
- We operate with good manufacturing practices so that we supply you with safe & legal products
- Passionate about improving our standards to match the standards of the consumer
- Ensure that our suppliers also meet the high standards we expect of them
Why did we choose BRC?
- This is a global certification accepted and specified by many retailers, manufacturers, ingredients companies, food service organisations and raw material processors worldwide as part of their supplier approval process
- The BRC is the first standard to be Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) benchmarked
- The BRC is the first standard to define food fraud
- The only Standard to offer a food safety culture assessment – You know we operate a culture of safety with every piece of fruit & veg we use.
- The BRC Standards are written by experts & audits are conducted by highly trained professionals
A deeper look at our food safety standards
First published in 1998, the BRC Food Safety Standard is now in its eighth issue. It provides a framework to manage product safety, integrity, legality and quality, and the operational controls for food & ingredient manufacturers, processors and the packing industry.
The BRC Global Standard focuses on:
- The importance of management commitment.
- Hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) based food safety programmes.
- Quality management systems.
- Auditing good manufacturing processes – it’s not just a paperwork audit.
- Auditing areas which often have the highest rate of product recalls and withdrawals, such as labelling and packing.
- Developing systems to reduce exposure to food fraud.
- Ensuring consistency of the audit process.
- Providing a BRC Global Standard that is portable enough to allow Additional Modules to be added to reduce audit burden.
- Promoting greater resilience, transparency and traceability in the supply chain.
The standards are divided into 7 sections:
- SENIOR MANAGEMENT COMMITMENT AND CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT
Consistent food safety is the responsibility of everyone within the company. However, the starting point for an effective food safety plan is the commitment of our senior management to implementing the BRC Global Standard and continual development. Nimisha takes this very seriously and we have a dedicated Operations & Technical Manager that ensures every rule & requirement is met. As such we must and do provide adequate resources, effective communication, system reviews, actions taken and opportunities for improvement.
- THE FOOD SAFETY PLAN (HACCP)
The BRC Global Standard requires the development of an effective hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) programme based on the requirements of the internationally recognised Codex Alimentarius system. This is extremely important and required by law, our HACCP programme exceeds what is legally required of us.
- FOOD SAFETY AND QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
We implement a comprehensive & rigorous management of food safety and quality. We include requirements for product specifications, supplier approval, traceability, and the management of incidents and product recalls. As such you can be assured that every product we send out of our factory doors is traceable from farm to packet, that it has been handled safely and should an incident arise that we can effectively handle the situation.
- SITE STANDARDS
This section sets out expectations for the buildings & machinery we create our products with. This includes the layout and maintenance of the buildings and equipment, cleaning, pest control, waste management and foreign body controls.
We have a dedicated pest control company that comes and performs monthly inspections as well as leaves traps and pest deterrents.
We have two waste management companies that sort our waste. Smurfit Kappa handles our non-consumable recycling such as cardboard, whilst Biffa operate our food waste (which is sent to be converted into renewable energy) and our general waste. More on this can be found on our Sustainability & Environmental Conscience page.
Foreign body controls are conducted regularly and the factory itself is cleaned and maintained on a daily basis.
- PRODUCT CONTROL
We operate an allergen free production facility. What this means is that none of the 14 listed allergens from the EU are used in our factory. We are also completely nut free with no nuts being allowed anywhere on the premises. We have to ensure that we meet every requirement with allergen management, product and ingredient provenance, product packaging and product inspection and testing.
- PROCESS CONTROL
As mentioned before we must establish and maintain safe processes throughout our facility. This includes weight/volume control and equipment calibration, as well as a documented HACCP plan.
- PERSONNEL
We train all of our staff to the highest level and provide continuous staff training. We also supply the necessary protective clothing and enforce strict personal hygiene standards due to the allergen free facility we operate.
All of the information provided come directly from our own policies and the BRC Global Standards website. Click here for more information.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
