Templates and records · BRCGS · Clause 4.10

BRCGS metal detector verification

A detector only protects if it works. BRCGS requires it to be tested with test pieces at a fixed frequency and for you to know what to do when it fails.

In one sentence

The BRCGS metal detector verification record captures each check of the equipment with test pieces of known size — ferrous, non-ferrous and stainless steel — the operation of the reject system, the time, who carried it out and the action on product if the test fails, as clause 4.10 on foreign body detection and removal equipment requires.

Content reviewed on 17 October 2026

Where the standard requires it: BRCGS · Clause 4.10 Clause references follow the numbering of BRCGS Food Safety Issue 9. If your audit is already against a later issue, check the correspondence on brcgs.com.
Type of information: Mandatory record Record to be retained (4.10)
Who fills it in: Trained line operator Verified by the shift leader; rejects reviewed by quality
When: At the start of, during and at the end of production At the frequency set by risk and at every product changeover
How long it is kept: Shelf life plus 12 months, at least BRCGS requires a retention period to be set taking into account legislation, the customer and the product's shelf life, and as a minimum records must be kept for the shelf life plus twelve months (3.3).

What the standard requires

What BRCGS demands and what it leaves to your judgement

BRCGS requires a risk assessment to decide which foreign body detection or removal equipment the process needs — metal detectors, X-ray, sieves, magnets — and a written justification where metal detection is not used.

Detectors are tested at a defined frequency with test pieces of known size, placed in the position hardest to detect. The reject system must divert product to a secure container, and the equipment must alarm or stop the line if it fails.

If the check fails, all product since the last good check is held and reinspected. The overall foreign body risk assessment is in the IFS Food sheet; the brittle materials inventory is in the glass register.

Read it in context: Site standards, in the BRCGS Academy

Structure

Fields the template should include

Equipment, line and product
Sensitivity setting
Test pieces used: type and size
Date, time and who carries out the check
Result for each piece and for the reject system
Product held and reinspected if it fails
Review of the shift's rejects

Example

Example: check on a fictitious biscuit line

Company, people and figures are fictitious: the example only shows what a properly completed record looks like.

Field	Content
Equipment	Detector MD-2 · line 2 · filled biscuit 300 g
Test pieces	Ferrous 2.0 mm · non-ferrous 2.5 mm · stainless 3.0 mm
06:05	All three pieces rejected · reject belt conforming
10:00	Stainless piece not rejected
Action	Line stopped · product since 08:00 (last good test) held: 1,800 packs
Reinspection	Product run through the line 1 detector: 2 rejects containing metal filings
Cause	Worn cutting blade · maintenance replaces it · nonconformity opened

At the audit

Mistakes auditors commonly flag

Test pieces passed through the centre of the aperture rather than the hardest position.
Failed checks with no product held back to the last good test.
An unlocked reject container that anyone can access.
Rejects that nobody reviews at the end of the shift.
A product changeover without a new check.

In Kimobox

How this record is kept in Kimobox

1Each check appears on the line terminal at its scheduled time and is recorded with the result for each piece.
2A failure opens an incident and blocks the batch back to the last good check.
3Rejects and their review are linked to the batch.
4Maintenance and periodic verification of the equipment are scheduled in the CMMS with reminders.

Frequently asked questions

What people ask us before getting started

Is a metal detector mandatory under BRCGS?

Not always, but if one is not used this must be justified by the risk assessment, with evidence that other controls are effective.

Which test piece sizes are used?

The Standard does not set them: they depend on the product, the packaging and the achievable sensitivity. The usual practice is to use the smallest size the equipment reliably detects for each type of metal, documented in the assessment.

What happens to the product if the test fails?

Everything produced since the last good check is held and rerun through a working detector before release.

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Sources

Where each figure comes from

References to the official text in force. If a standard is revised, this page is updated and the review date says so.

BRCGS Global Standard for Food Safety, Issue 9 BRCGS · Published August 2022