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Try It Free BRC v2.0
Try It Free BRC v2.0
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About:
This spreadsheet is a tool that is designed to help food businesses perform a vulnerability assessment for food fraud.
This spreadsheet is designed for businesses that manufacture food in accordance with the requirements of BRC's (British Retail Consortium) GLOBAL STANDARD FOOD SAFETY ,
which requires that businesses assess their ingredients and raw materials for vulnerability to economically motivated adulteration, substitution or dilution.
A food fraud vulnerability assessment is similar to a conventional risk assessment, in that it considers the likelihood that food fraud will occur and the likelihood that food fraud
will be detected if it does occur. The likelihood of occurrence versus the likelihood of detection are plotted on a risk matrix to determine the overall risk.
The risk assessment methodology and matrix are based on the recommendations of the British Retail Consortium in their document Understanding Vulnerability Assessment
(2015). To learn more about the method, choose the worksheet (tab) 'About the Method' at the bottom of your screen.
It does not replace the judgement of an expert person, who should review all results and make the final decisions regarding likelihood of occurrence and of detection of food
fraud. Calculated results can be over-ridden by the user.
The author and publisher give no assurance whatsoever that the content and/or documents generated with this tool will meet the requirements of any management system
standard, regulatory standard, code of practice, auditing system or any auditor.
Vulnerability Assessment Tool, Food Fraud Advisors 2018
Date 25-Oct-19
Review due date 25-Oct-20
Instructions
L8
LOCKED Info
L9
LOCKED Info
L12
LOCKED Info
L13
LOCKED Info
L14
LOCKED Info
L15
LOCKED Info
Use this worksheet to help assess the likelihood that food fraud will
affect this material prior to it entering your facility.
You can enter information into the white cells. The blue cells cannot
be edited.
The information in the results column and the comments you enter
are reproduced in the printable vulnerability assessment document
('Results section 2'). The information in the results page can be
changed at any time by returning to this sheet; the printable results
pages cannot be edited directly.
For help with the questions, click on the links in the 'Help' column.
D2
LOCKED
Buy the full version to
access this content
D3 Complexity of Do you consider the
supply chain supply chain of this
material to be complex
and/or long?
D4
LOCKED
Buy the full version to
access this content
D7
LOCKED Info
D11
LOCKED Info
D12
LOCKED Info
Results
hese questions You can enter information into the white cells. The coloured cells
cannot be edited.
ons on this sheet are the Read the question in column 3 of the table, then choose an answer by
currence worksheet. The clicking on the cell in column 5 and choosing from the dropdown list.
ated on the
of the BRC in their Add comments that support your answer or provide more information
anding Vulnerability (optional).
.
If you wish to copy the answers from another excel file, that will work
x or drag it off-screen if fine.
The information in the results column and the comments you enter are
reproduced in the printable vulnerability assessment document
('Results section 2'). The information in the results page can be changed
at any time by returning to this sheet; the printable results pages cannot
be edited directly.
For help with the questions, click on the links in the 'Help' column.
Delete this text box or drag it off-screen if you wish to enter comments.
Type your comments about the likelihood that food fraud would be detected for this material here
Vulnerability Assessment Tool, Food Fraud Advisors 2018
Date 25-Oct-19
Review due date 25-Oct-20
Description
Used in these Briefly describe product range/s that contain this ingredient or raw
products material
This sheet cannot be edited. If you wish to change any details, return to the
Scope worksheet.
Summary
Food safety warning: adulteration or substitution of any ingredient means a risk to food safety
Likelihood of occurrence
Very unlikely
Fairly likely
Very likely/
Unlikely
certain
Likelihood of detection
Likely
Very likely/certain
Likely
Fairly likely
Unlikely/remote
X
Very unlikely
Key
Red areas = high risk; urgent action is required and regular monitoring may be needed
Yellow areas = medium risk: action is needed with occasional monitoring to mitigate the risk
Green areas = low risk
Historic incidents
Emerging concerns
Size of market
Price
Price fluctuations
Trading properties
Geographic origins
Complexity of
supply chain
0
Ease of access to
material
0
Geographic origin
Complexity of
supply chain
0
Routine testing
Ease of access to
material
0
If you are pasting into a new excel document use the 'Paste special'
function, then choose 'values' to avoid copying formulas that will look
strange in the new spreadsheet.
Delete this text box prior to printing.
Comments
The Vulnerability Assessment Tool does not enforce a limit on the length of
comments that users can add.
However if you added very lengthy comments when performing your
assessment the final parts of some comments may be obscured in this
table.
To fix this problem adjust the row height of affected cells by right clicking
the row number at the left of the screen. Increase the row height until all
of your comments are visible.
Overview:
Create a new excel file for each material or group of materials. A material group is a family of ingredients or raw materials that are of similar composition and
have similar supply chain characteristics. If you are unsure of which materials to include within a group, just start with your best guess. When using the tool it
will soon be clear whether you can include more materials within a group and it is simple to expand the scope after you have started if you want to do so.
Collect information about the material(s) and use it to answer questions in the worksheets. You do not need all the information on hand to start, you can add or
change the information at any time. Start with your best guess and update your answers as you learn more.
When you have answered all the questions, view and print the results. Section 1 of the results defines the purpose and scope, author, date and review date.
Section 2 of the results contains the vulnerability rating, risk matrix and information about what was considered in the assessment. You can print to paper, print
to pdf or copy and paste the results into a larger document.
Step 1 Perform a ‘Save As’ to create a new copy of this spreadsheet with a new name. Always keep a blank copy on hand for next time.
1 minute
Use one spreadsheet per material or material group. Make a new excel spreadsheet file for each material or material group.
Step 2 Enter some basic information: Go to the Scope Worksheet (click the tab labelled Scope Worksheet at the bottom of your screen or the link to
2 minutes your right) . Type the name of the material you will be assessing, your name and job role and the date into the boxes in the worksheet.
take me to the Scope worksheet
Describe the material group, then list the materials which are included in this group, plus their codes if desired.
Step 3 Answer questions in the Occurrence Worksheet to estimate the likelihood of food fraud affecting the material. Choose answers from the
20 minutes dropdown lists provided and add comments if desired. This information will be used to estimate the likelihood of food fraud affecting the
material.
If you disagree with the calculated estimate, there is space to add your own instead. The user's estimate always overrides the calculated take me to the Occurrence worksheet
estimate to produce the final result.
Step 4 Answer questions in the Detection Worksheet to estimate the likelihood that food fraud would be detected for the material being assessed.
5 minutes Choose answers from the dropdown lists provided and add comments if desired. This information will be used to determine the likelihood of
detection if food fraud was to affect the material.
take me to the Detection worksheet
If you are unsure of an answer, just insert your best guess; you can come back later when you have more information.
Avoid using the excel 'CUT' function in the worksheets. Copy and paste is fine.
Step 5 The answers that were entered in the Occurrence Worksheet and Detection Worksheet automatically populate a risk matrix that shows the
View results overall vulnerability of the material.
View and print results for the material by going to the Results sheets (click on the tabs at the bottom of your screen). There are two sheets of
results. Section 1 contains purpose, scope and author information. Section 2 contains the risk assessment results, including the risk matrix and Show me the results
the information used to determine the results. These sheets are formatted for printing to paper or pdf for your audit.
Back to Introduction
Vulnerability Assessment Tool, Food Fraud Advisors 2018
L3 Back to
Size of market Occurrence
Worksheet
Materials that have markets with large monetary values are those that are traded in very large quantities across many countries or
materials that are very expensive. Tea, coffee, cocoa, sugar all have markets with a large monetary value.
L4 Price
Use the following as a guide for ingredients and raw materials: If the purchase price is more than USD20 per kg or USD20,000 per
metric tonne or EUR18 per kg or 18,000 per metric tonne answer ‘yes very expensive’. If the purchase price is less than EUR600
or USD650 per metric tonne, answer ‘no’.
L6 Trading properties
Ingredients and raw materials that are traded on specific properties are those for which the price is dependent on the content of
water, dairy fat, nitrogen (protein), cocoa solids or some other key component. Answer ‘yes’ here if your business pays a price that Back to
is dependent on a specific property of the material or if your supplier(s) pay a price depends on a property of the material, even if Occurrence
your business pays a flat rate. Worksheet
L7 Geographic origins
Answer ‘yes’ for this question if this ingredient or raw material originates in a country that is politically unstable or very poor.
The Global Food Security Index (http://foodsecurityindex.eiu.com/) has specific information about food quality and food safety
issues in 113 countries.
L8 LOCKED
L9 LOCKED
Is the supply chain of a type that allows multiple points of entry for fraudulent material? Entry points for fraudulent materials are
points in the supply chain at which a motivated person could adulterate or dilute the material or substitute an inauthentic material in
its place. These points are most likely to be places where the material is blended, mixed, ground or where it is stored or
transported in a manner that would allow a motivated person to easily gain access to the material.
L12 LOCKED
L14 LOCKED
Back to
Occurrence
Worksheet
L15 LOCKED
This is an estimate of the likelihood of food fraud affecting this material prior to its receipt into your facility. If you disagree with the Back to
results, progress to the row below (L17) and choose your estimate from the dropdown list. Your estimate will be used for the overall Occurrence
risk rating. If you agree with the calculated results there is no need to add your own estimate. Worksheet
Vulnerability Assessment Tool, Food Fraud Advisors 2018
Answer ‘yes all suppliers are audited’ in the Vulnerability Assessment Tool if you know that all the suppliers from whom you
purchase this material and their suppliers are audited by your business or by third parties. Suppliers that have been successfully
audited by third parties will have current certificates of conformance to food safety standards; for example they will be ‘BRC
certified’ or ‘SQF certified’.
D6 Routine testing
A routine authenticity test is a test carried out on a regular, defined basis by your business, a trusted supplier or a third party to
determine whether the material is ‘authentic’. An authentic food or food ingredient is one that is what it is claimed to be. That is, if
the material is claimed to be olive oil, an authenticity test would confirm that the oil has been made from olives; if the material is
claimed to be Spanish olive oil, authenticity testing would check that the chemical profile of the oil matches those of Spanish olives;
if the material is claimed to be virgin Spanish olive oil, the testing would check for the origin, the species and whether the oil is Back to
virgin. If testing has occurred but it is occasional, ad-hoc or one-off then it is not considered routine and you should answer ‘no’ at Detection
Worksheet
this question.
D7 LOCKED
D11 LOCKED
D12 LOCKED
The Vulnerability Assessment Tool can help you to make an estimate of how likely it is that food fraud would be detected in a
material or ingredient. No matter what answer the tool calculates, you, with advice from other experts within the business should
carefully consider the evidence and make your own choice. Add your own choice to the row D14 ‘User rating’. The overall
vulnerability rating is determined with the ‘User rating’; if a user rating has been entered it will override the calculated result.
Food safety risks: any adulteration, substitution or dilution of an ingredient should be treated as a serious food safety issue as a first
priority. There can be direct food safety risks to consumers from contaminated adulterants, allergenic adulterants or unhygienic
handling of the ingredient during any adulteration or substitution. There can also be an indirect food safety risk to consumers from
adulterants that cause chronic disease, or are carcinogenic or are lacking in nutrients that should be present in an authentic
product.
Loss of consumer trust: problems with your product or product group can be catastrophic for your brand.
Indirect risks: adulteration, substitution or dilution of an ingredient indicates a flaw in the traceability of your product, which means
non-compliance with the requirements of food safety standards and regulations.
There are financial risks associated with any incidence of food fraud. If your company has a Risk Officer or an Enterprise Risk Back to
Management Plan the relevant persons should be informed of the results of your vulnerability assessment and consulted about how Detection
to prioritise the prevention and mitigation planning that should be done for materials that are found to be medium or high risk in their Worksheet
vulnerability assessment.
Vulnerability Assessment Tool, Food Fraud Advisors © 2018
Table of contents
1 Methodology
2 Descriptors
3 Calculations
4 Risk ratings
5 References
1 Methodology
It is designed for businesses that manufacture food in accordance with the requirements
of BRC's (British Retail Consortium) GLOBAL STANDARD FOOD SAFETY, which
requires that businesses assess their ingredients and raw materials for vulnerability to
economically motivated adulteration or substitution.
The assessment method that underpins this tool aligns with the recommendations made
by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) in their technical document Tackling Food
Fraud Through Food Safety Management Systems (2018) in so far as:
(1) It conforms with the guidance for risk management methods described in ISO
31000
(2) It prompts the user to consider historical data, food fraud opportunities,
economical context, fraud capability, complexity of supply chain.
In addition, it is not designed to address all types of food fraud or all types of food items,
focussing only on those types that are specified in BRC Global Standard Food Safety
Issue 7, clause 5.4.2; specifically, ingredients and raw materials and their vulnerability to
economically motivated adulteration, substitution or dilution. It is expected that this
vulnerability assessment tool will also meet the requirements of Issue 8, clause 5.4.2.
As specified in 5.4.2 this tool prompts the user to take into account historical evidence of
substitution or adulteration; economic factors which may make adulteration or
substitution more attractive; ease of access to raw materials through the supply chain;
sophistication of routine testing to identify adulterants; nature of the raw material.
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Vulnerability Assessment Tool, Food Fraud Advisors © 2018
2 Descriptors for
Vulnerability Assessment Tool (BRC Method) for Food Fraud
Likelihood of Occurrence
Likelihood of Detection
3 Calculations of likelihood
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Vulnerability Assessment Tool, Food Fraud Advisors © 2018
For each question, a ‘good’ answer is awarded a numerical value of 0 points. A 'good'
answer is an answer that corresponds to a lower likelihood of fraud or a higher likelihood
of detection. 'Good' answers are shown in green colour on the worksheets. 'Bad'
answers, those that correspond to an increased likelihood of fraud or a lower likelihood
of detection, are shown in red colour on the worksheets. 'Bad' answers are awarded 1
point. The exception is the question about whether the raw material been implicated in
previous incidences of food fraud (Question L1). For this question, the answer “Yes
many incidences” returns 5 points (= very bad) while “A few incidences” returns 3 points
(= still quite bad). Past history of food fraud is a very good indicator of future risk, more
so than other factors, which is why the scoring for this question is weighted in such a
way. If question L1 is not answered at all, maximum points are assigned and the
likelihood of occurrence will remain at 'Very likely/certain' until that question is answered.
As the points are assigned for each answer, they are averaged and converted to a value
between 0 and 100, with each of the five descriptors assigned to five equal ranges of 20
points each.
All calculated answers can be over-ridden by the user and we recommend that the user
makes their own conclusions as to the vulnerabilities and risks; the calculated ratings
are designed to provide a starting point only, so if they do not make sense for your
ingredient or supply chain they should definitely be changed.
In accordance with the quadratic risk matrix method described in BRC's Understanding
Vulnerability Assessment (2015), the overall estimate of vulnerability is determined by
plotting the likelihood of occurrence vs the likelihood of detection on a quadratic matrix.
The colours in the matrix in the Vulnerability Assessment tool are as described in
Understanding Vulnerability Assessment (2015). The colours red, yellow and green
correspond to high risk, medium risk and low risk.
The purpose of a food fraud vulnerability assessment is to understand the risk that food
fraud will affect the material and so determine whether or not actions are required to
reduce the risk. If the assessment shows that a food raw material is at high risk or
medium risk, a food fraud mitigation plan is required. If the material is at low risk of food
fraud, mitigation activities are not required.
High risk; urgent action is required and regular monitoring may be needed
Medium risk: action is needed with occasional monitoring to mitigate the risk
5 References
Tackling Food Fraud Through Food Safety Management Systems (GFSI, 2018)
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Vulnerability Assessment Tool, Food Fraud Advisors © 2018
http://www.mygfsi.com/files/Technical_Documents/201805-food-fraud-technical-document-final.pdf
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