1.3 Backward trace on BMPA quality assured products audit

Found in:

Quality Pork Charter Rules / Guidance for traceability & mass balance audits

The scope of the backward trace on BMPA quality assured products audit covers the following modules:

BMPA Quality Assured Pork
BMPA Quality Assured Bacon and Gammon
BMPA Quality Assured Ham and Cooked Pork
BMPA Quality Assured Pork Sausage

1.3.1 Objective – The objective of the backward trace shall be to verify that incoming assured pork raw material/pork meat products is sourced from a participant of the BMPA Quality Pork Charter, and that the supplier holds a valid BMPA Quality Pork Charter certificate of conformity. It shall be sufficient for the assured backward trace to be verified to the point of intake at the site. There is no requirement for the backward trace to be verified back to farm. However, to maintain traceability, all pork carcases and raw material shall be accompanied by clearly marked delivery documentation which confirms its assured status and country of birth, rearing and slaughter or statement of pig’s origin.

Where pigs are born, reared and slaughtered in one country, a single statement of origin shall be sufficient for the traceability declaration. For co-located abattoirs with cutting and packing facilities, the objective of the backward trace shall be to verify that pork raw material is derived from pigs, which have been certified by Red Tractor, Quality Meat Scotland-Pigs or an equivalent farm assurance scheme recognized by the BMPA.

1.3.2 Selection of product – The auditor shall request to see a copy of the participants’ current BMPA Quality Pork Charter certificate of conformity. Only products that are listed on the BMPA Quality Pork Charter certificate of conformity shall be deemed to be approved. The auditor shall be responsible for the selection of the product for the backward trace. The sample shall comprise a single sample of finished product. Finished product at some sites may be product that is to be despatched to another site for further processing/final packing.

For BQAP, dependent on the scope of the site’s processes the auditor shall choose a use-by date, date of packing or kill date. From the corresponding kill sheet, the auditor shall randomly select three different pig suppliers and verify the status of the haulier, collection centre, country of birth and farm assurance. Where pigs are born, reared and slaughtered in one country, a single statement of origin shall be sufficient for the traceability declaration. The animal movement document shall be included in the backward trace.

Product selected for the trace shall be taken from a different production date and not from product manufactured on the day of the audit unless the surveillance audit is unannounced. The auditor shall request that all relevant trace information is presented for review. It is important that the information recorded can be cross referenced to the corresponding trace documentation presented by the site.

There is no requirement to copy sensitive commercial information unless the information is required to support non-conformance. Any copying of sensitive commercial information shall be agreed by the scheme participant.