8.2 Major and critical non-conformances

The following actions shall be taken following the identification of a major or critical non-conformance during a surveillance audit:

8.2.1 The Charter participant shall make every effort to rectify the non-conformance/observation before the auditor leaves the site.

8.2.2 Details relating to the immediate corrective action taken at the time of the audit shall be recorded in the conformance summary report to prevent re-occurrence.

8.2.3 The conformance summary report including the immediate corrective action, shall be emailed to the BMPA by the service provider to the BMPA Technical Policy Manager who shall communicate this information to the PTAC within two working days. Where clarification on the acceptance of the proposed corrective action the PTAC shall make a decision within a further two working days.

8.2.4 Where a critical/major observation is made against the BRC GFS the Charter participant shall inform the certification body responsible for the site’s BRC status.

8.2.5 Where a Charter participant is also certified with Red Tractor Assurance for the use of the Red Tractor logo, the Charter participant shall notify Red Tractor Assurance on the same day.

8.2.6 Where a critical non-conformance is raised, the Charter participant shall not make any claim relating to the assured status of the product until the critical non-conformance is rectified, verified by re-audit and the Charter participant re-instated in line with BMPA Quality Pork Charter certification procedures.

8.2.7 In the event of critical non-conformance being raised, the BMPA Technical Policy Manager shall be kept informed on a daily basis, or as agreed, with the Charter participant until the issue is resolved. 

8.2.8 Where a critical non-conformance is raised or dependant on the number and/or nature of a major non-conformance raised (e.g., where a major non-conformance has been raised due to a site not having a valid Quality Pork Charter certificate of conformity aligned to BRC GFS) and dependent on the previous compliance record, the participant may be suspended from the BMPA Quality Pork Charter and/or be subjected to an unannounced re-audit to verify that the root cause has been established and that the required corrective action has been satisfactorily implemented. 

8.2.9 Where a critical or major non-conformance leads to suspension, this shall be dealt with on a case-by-case basis to protect the integrity of the BMPA Quality Pork Charter. Depending on the circumstances it may be possible that assured product can continue to be despatched under enhanced supervision defined by the PTAC.

8.2.10 If a participant fails to close out a minor non-conformity fully or is found to have given misleading assurance that the non-conformities have been dealt with within the agreed timescale during a subsequence Charter inspection or spot audit, the service provider, with the agreement of the BMPA PTAC may upgrade this non-conformity to a major or critical status, depending on the circumstances.