Global Quality Pork Charter Rules
3 Obligations of Charter participants
Last Updated: 7 Jan 2022.
3.1 Compliance with Charter rules
Auditable
3.1.1 The latest version of the BMPA Quality Pork Charter rules and the relevant BMPA pork module(s) shall be available on site. These can be found on the Quality Pork Charter website.
Auditable
3.1.2 Charter participants shall comply with the requirements of the Charter rules, pork modules and the declarations made on their application form.
3.2 Notifying of changes
3.2.1 Charter participants shall inform the BMPA and their service provider if their circumstances change during the period of certification which may affect their compliance with the Quality Pork Charter. For example, a significant change to facilities, management or scope extension etc. The service provider and BMPA shall assess whether a re-audit is necessary to confirm continued suitability for Charter certification.
All Charter participants shall notify the BMPA and their service provider in writing of any change in contact details. Communication of these changes to the BMPA shall be via email to info@britishmeatindustry.org.
3.2.2 Service of any communication or notice from the BMPA, any appointed representative of the BMPA or service provider, shall be valid if addressed to the last contact address notified to the BMPA by the participant. Notices to the Charter participant may be served by email and shall be deemed to have been served on the same day of transmission.
3.2.3 Prior to any changes to Charter rules and procedures, or extension of scope within the pork modules, the BMPA shall seek the views of current participants and other stakeholders through a four-week period of consultation. Following this Charter participants and stakeholders shall be notified in writing of approved amendment to the Charter rules or pork modules by the BMPA. Prior to any major change or extension to scope being implemented, the BMPA shall ensure that there is a three-month notice period for existing Charter participants and stakeholders however, there may be extraordinary circumstances where the Charter needs to respond immediately to developments/challenges within the industry and the notice period may be reduced at the discretion of the PTAC.
Charter participants and service providers shall be issued with a receipt acknowledgement and summary document which details any changes made to the Charter rules, procedures or individual pork modules. Receipt acknowledgement documents shall be signed and dated by the participating site and then returned to the BMPA Technical Policy Manager as evidence of receipt, understanding and commitment to any update. It shall be the Charter participants’ and service providers’ responsibility to ensure that there are satisfactory systems in place for the receipt and dissemination of any revised requirements to appropriate personnel within their business.
3.3 Notifying of incidents and breaches
Auditable
3.3.1 The Charter participants shall notify the BMPA and Red Tractor immediately without delay if they are subject to a prosecution, any other incident that may have a bearing on pig welfare, biosecurity, traceability and the overall integrity of the Charter or any public recall of product approved under the Quality Pork Charter.
Auditable
3.3.2 The Charter participant shall obtain the consent of the service provider to use certification against the BMPA Quality Pork Charter as part of their due diligence defence. Prior to giving this consent the service provider shall consult with the BMPA who reserve the right to request an additional site audit to be undertaken by the service provider, at cost to the Charter participant, to confirm continued conformance to the BMPA Quality Pork Charter rules and pork module requirements.
Auditable
3.3.3 Any Charter participant classified in the ‘urgent improvement necessary’ category of the Food Standards Agency audit system shall notify the BMPA Technical Policy Manager to explain the circumstances and whether this has an implication on the Quality Pork Charter. If the compliance rating is categorised as being a serious risk, the BMPA may require an additional announced or unannounced surveillance audit at cost to the Charter participant, to be carried out.
3.4 Open and transparent communication
Charter participants shall conduct their business and any dealings with the BMPA and its service providers in an open and transparent manner that supports the integrity inherent to the Quality Pork Charter and its stakeholders. All inappropriate actions or conduct shall be viewed seriously and shall be liable to investigation and action.
Any false or misleading statement and/or conduct during an audit, incident investigation or within any other communication may lead, depending on the circumstances, to Charter participants’ suspension, withdrawal or in extreme cases exclusion from future BMPA Quality Pork Charter participation.