F917 Additional Costco Requirements v3, 18.07.2023
F917 Additional Costco Requirements v3, 18.07.2023
Change log:
F917: Additional Costco Requirements BRCGS Global Standard Food Safety, Issue 9
Version 3: 18/07/2023 Page 1 of 9
PART 1
AUDIT PROTOCOL
AUDIT AIM
In collaboration with Costco BRCGS has developed the Additional Costco Requirements,
hereafter referred to as the Requirements. The aim of the Requirements is to expand the
scope of the audit against the Global Standard Food Safety, Issue 9 (hereafter referred to as
the Standard) to meet Costco requirements and enable sites to demonstrate compliance
with these Costco specific requirements.
Auditing to the Requirements in association with the Standard is designed to:
• reduce the need for additional audits
• demonstrate effective management of quality throughout production
• demonstrate effective change management controls
• provide confidence to customers.
SCOPE
The use of the Requirements applies to all sites who manufacture, process and pack food for
Costco. It is also intended to apply to:
• processed foods, both own brand (i.e. Kirkland Signature products) and customer-
branded
• raw materials or ingredients for use by food service companies, catering companies
and/or food manufacturers
• primary products such as fruit and vegetables
• pet food.
The Costco audit applies to Costco products that have been manufactured or prepared at
the site where the audit has taken place and includes storage facilities that are under the
direct control of the production site management.
AUDIT PLANNING
SELECTION OF THE CERTIFICATION BODY
The audit programme is open to BRCGS approved certification bodies offering the Standard
that have also been approved by Costco. (i.e. Certification bodies that are approved by
Costco and have auditors who have been trained and approved to audit against the
Standard).
Certification bodies auditing Costco sites must proactively offer the Standard audit and the
Requirements audit at the same time.
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DEFINING THE SCOPE OF AUDIT
The audit shall include all Costco products and production facilities for their manufacture. The
scope of the audit - products produced and manufacturing processes – shall be agreed
between the site and the certification body in advance of the audit to ensure the allocation
of auditor(s) with the correct category, product knowledge and qualifications required are
selected.
PREPARATION BY THE SITE
The certification body shall be notified by the site in advance of the audit of the intention to
add the Requirements to the scope of the audit. This ensures that sufficient additional time
can be scheduled and that an auditor with the appropriate qualifications for the
Requirements is selected.
AUDITOR SELECTION
Auditors undertaking the Requirements audit shall have been trained and approved against
the Standard and registered with BRCGS. They shall also be registered with a Costco
approved certification body.
There are no additional BRCGS training requirements for auditors conducting the audit as
Costco will train the certification body on these requirements separately. All auditors must be
aware of the Costco documentation, including the Costco Finished Goods Microbial Test and
Hold Programme (Refer to part 2, the Requirements, section 2. Environmental Monitoring). This
will be available from Costco via the certification body.
INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED TO THE CERTIFICATION BODY FOR AUDIT PREPARATION
Costco sites shall supply the certification body with any additional background information
requested prior to the audit day to ensure the auditor is fully prepared and to provide the
best opportunity for the audit to be completed efficiently, against the Requirements.
AUDIT DURATION
Sufficient information shall have been provided by the site to the certification body when
selecting this option to allow for the selection of an auditor with the correct category
qualifications and to allow sufficient additional time to be added to the expected BRCGS
audit duration. The typical additional audit time to cover the Requirements is approximately 1
to 2 hours depending on the sites size and complexity. This additional time will be captured in
the Standard audit report in section 6 “Audit Duration Details” as “Additional Specifier
Requirements”. The expected audit duration shall be notified to the site by the certification
body in advance of the audit.
THE AUDIT
The audit for the Requirements shall be undertaken at the same time as the audit for the
Standard. Therefore, compliance with the Requirements shall be assessed as part of the audit
against the requirements of the Standard . They are expected to be integrated into the audit
programme as appropriate.
During the audit, detailed notes shall be made regarding the sites conformities and non-
conformities against the Requirements, and these will be used as the basis for the Costco
audit report. The auditor(s) shall not assess the severity of any non-conformities.
At the closing meeting, the auditor(s) shall present their findings and discuss all non-
conformities that have been identified against these requirements during the audit. A written
summary of the non-conformities discussed at the closing meeting will be documented by
the auditor, either at the closing meeting or within one working day after completion of the
audit.
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A certificate will not be issued for this audit.
The report will not be uploaded onto the BRCGS Directory. The certification body shall
upload the report into the Costco database of choice and Costco will review the audit
report and determine the outcome of the audit.
Costco only accepts the unannounced audit option when accepted by BRCGS. For
example initial audits should still be announced.
NON-CONFORMITIES AND CORRECTIVE ACTION
Non-conformities raised shall be allocated to the relevant Costco clause, however the
severity of non-conformity will not be assigned. Where one or more non-conformities are
raised against Costco requirements, a non-conformity shall also be raised against clause 1.1.1
of the Standard because the site’s responsibility to its customers has not been achieved. The
severity of the non-conformity shall be assigned as per the existing Standard audit protocol.
The following wording shall be used for the non-conformity in clause 1.1.1 of the Standard
audit report:
“ The site has not met a specific customer requirement and therefore failed to meet its
responsibility to its customer”.
The audit report shall not detail customer names, as this may infringe confidentiality
agreements.
The total number of non-conformities will be captured in the Costco audit report. Procedures
for handling non-conformities and corrective actions are managed by Costco.
GRADING OF THE AUDIT
There will be no grading of the Requirements of the Costco audit.
AUDIT REPORTING
Following each audit, the auditor will report their findings in the Costco audit report. The audit
findings reported shall be produced in English or in another language, dependent upon user
needs. Where the audit findings are produced in a language other than English (e.g. any
applicable audit sections and the Costco non-conformity summary sheet) these shall be
translated and be reported in English on the Costco audit report.
The report will not be uploaded onto the BRCGS Directory. The certification body shall
upload the report directly into the Costco database of choice. If unsure of which database
to use, please contact Costco.
The audit report and associated documentation, including the auditor’s notes, shall be stored
safely and securely for a period of 5 years by the certification body.
CERTIFICATION
The Requirements are not certificated, and therefore there is no certificate awarded.
Where certification to the Standard are not achieved, the Requirements for Costco cannot
be met irrespective of whether they have been achieved.
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PART 2
REQUIREMENTS
F917: Additional Costco Requirements BRCGS Global Standard Food Safety, Issue 9
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Requirements
1 Traceability
Sites shall test the traceability system independently at least twice during
the year and conduct separate traceability exercises for each of the
two areas defined below:
• Raw material/ingredients
• Primary packaging
During the audit the auditor shall conduct a finished goods traceability
exercise during the audit.
2.1 Sites subject to the “Finished Goods Microbial Test and Hold
Programme” producing high-risk, ready-to-eat food items shall have a
documented environmental sampling monitoring programme to detect
organisms of concern. (Refer to Costco Food Safety Audit Expectations).
Fresh and frozen produce sites with production and storage facilities,
where water is introduced shall also have a documented environmental
sampling monitoring programme.
The environmental monitoring programme requirements shall be:
• The programme shall be based on a risk assessment of the
operation and its effectiveness shall be re-evaluated when
deficiencies are identified or at least on an annual basis.
• On-going review and analysis of the data from routine
monitoring programmes should be performed to detect trends
before major issues develop.
If pathogen testing is done on food contact surfaces (Zone 1), all
2.2
product lots processed over the swabbed surface(s) since the last
validated sanitation cycle shall remain within the supplier's control until
satisfactory swab test results are obtained.
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●Operations that utilize a physical barrier (e.g. screen, filter, sieve) that is
appropriately sized and placed.
The requirements shall have a pass/fail criteria defined for the supplier’s
audits to maintain approved status.
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assessment of the operation and validated. It shall not rely solely on
visual checks for sanitation verification.
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