What this is
What is labelling and packaging training?
What is labelling and packaging training?
It is the training record behind BRCGS cl.7.1's label control requirement. It covers label verification, artwork approval, date coding, reconciliation and pack weight, and it is delivered to the line staff and supervisors who perform the second check at every changeover.
What is the 'second check' this training exists to justify?
It is a verification carried out by someone other than the person who did the original work, on the basis that a person checking their own labelling tends to see what they expect rather than what is actually on the pack. The training exists to make that check deliberate rather than a formality.
What is a planted-error test, and why does this template score for it?
It is a deliberately incorrect label or detail inserted into a practical assessment to see whether the trainee's check actually catches it. The template scores it separately from the content questions because a verbal 'yes, I understood' and a demonstrated catch are different kinds of evidence, and only one of them proves the control works.
Scope
When is a labelling and packaging training required?
Labelling and packaging training is one step in a wider Labelling and Packaging programme. Used for work that belongs to a neighbouring record, it produces evidence gaps that surface later at audit or during a recall.
Use this template when
- Someone new joins the line, or moves into a role that verifies labels, artwork or date codes
- A refresher is due against the recorded date, or a knowledge check or planted-error test was failed last time
- The Labelling and Packaging programme is being run and this record is one of its steps
- A linked record — Label Verification, Changeover — needs this training already in place before it can be relied on
- The competency matrix needs updating after a training event, so the matrix reference has something current to point at
Do not use it for
- Label Verification Record, which records the two-person check performed at each changeover, not the training behind it.
- Artwork Approval Record, which is the version-control sign-off for new artwork, not instruction in how to read it.
- Good Manufacturing Practice Training, which covers hygiene, clothing, jewellery and behaviour in production areas.
- HACCP Training, which covers hazard analysis, critical control points and corrective action.
- Allergen Awareness Training, which covers which allergens are handled and how cross-contact happens at changeover.
Compliance mapping
Which BRCGS cl.7.1 requirements does this satisfy?
BRCGS cl.7.1 sets the requirement for label control; this template is the training record that demonstrates the people applying it actually can. Every citation below sits at the same clause level rather than an invented sub-clause.
| Clause | Requirement | Where it lands |
|---|---|---|
| BRCGS cl.7.1 | Staff who verify labels understand the process well enough to explain it, not just recite it | Content covered |
| BRCGS cl.7.1 | The second-person check is understood as a deliberate control, not a formality | Content covered |
| BRCGS cl.7.1 | Attendees can calculate a date code without prompting | Knowledge check |
| BRCGS cl.7.1 | The check is demonstrated to actually catch an incorrect label under supervision | Practical |
| BRCGS cl.7.1 | Training is delivered, in a language attendees understand, before they rely on it | Delivery quality |
| BRCGS cl.7.1 | Attendance and understanding are confirmed and signed for | Attendance |
| BRCGS cl.7.1 | The competency record is updated and a refresher date is set | Outcome |
What it does not cover
- A knowledge check that only asks yes/no questions, which lets an attendee affirm understanding without demonstrating it.
- A planted-error test skipped or marked Partly, which means the one control this training exists to prove has never actually been tested.
- Training delivered after the attendee started verifying labels unsupervised, which reverses the order the record is meant to prove.
- A competency matrix that isn't updated afterwards, which leaves the training with no link back to who is actually authorised to check labels.
- A refresher date left blank, which means nobody is tracking when the second check next needs re-testing.
Global
Labelling and Packaging Training requirements by country
BRCGS itself does not distinguish jurisdictions, but the mislabel this training exists to prevent is a legal offence in most of the markets a certified site sells into.
Food Information Regulations 2014, implementing Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011
Mislabelling allergen or product information is a strict-liability food safety matter, not a paperwork lapse
the training record is the first evidence a site produces when a regulator or auditor asks how it prevents a mislabel
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C. §343 (misbranding)
A product carrying incorrect label information is legally 'misbranded' regardless of intent
training records showing the second check was tested, not just delivered, support a due-diligence position if a misbranded product ships
BRCGS Global Standard for Food Safety, cl.7.1 (label and pack control)
BRCGS treats label control as certification-critical; a finding here can affect certification grade
this template's audit trail is what an auditor checks first when label control is raised as a non-conformance
How to complete it
How to complete a labelling and packaging training, step by step
Filling in every field is the easy part. Whether the record actually defends the training is decided by a handful of judgement calls the form itself cannot make for you.
If the same attendee has seen the same planted error in a previous cycle, the field is confirming memory rather than competence. The error needs to change between cycles, or the test proves nothing new.
Seven content fields are self-assessed by the trainer delivering the course. A defensible record separates what was covered from what was checked to have landed, which is why Knowledge check exists as its own section.
Retraining Required marks the record, but nothing in the form itself removes access to the line. That has to be enforced against the competency matrix, not assumed from this template.
A refresher due date that was copied forward rather than recalculated from this specific delivery quietly drifts the whole programme out of alignment with what actually happened.
What auditors find
Most common labelling and packaging training findings
These are the gaps an auditor or a recall investigation actually finds when a labelling and packaging training record is pulled.
| Finding | Clause | What fixes it |
|---|---|---|
| Every content-covered field is Yes but the planted-error field is blank | BRCGS cl.7.1 | Make the Practical section mandatory before a record can move to Complete; a self-reported Yes without a tested check is not evidence. |
| Attendees signed for a session that ran after they had already been verifying labels on shift | BRCGS cl.7.1 | Treat a No on Delivered Before The Work Started as an exception needing a documented reason, not a routine answer. |
| Retraining Required is marked Yes with no linked action record | BRCGS cl.7.1 | Require an Action Required entry whenever any attendee fails, so the gap has an owner and a date instead of sitting in a closed record. |
| The competency matrix reference is left blank on a record marked Complete | BRCGS cl.7.1 | Block Complete status until Matrix ID is populated, since the training has no downstream effect until the matrix reflects it. |
| Refresher Due is a round date with no working back from a risk basis | BRCGS cl.7.1 | Anchor the refresher interval to the site's documented training matrix cycle, not to whatever date was convenient to type. |
| Reconciliation is marked understood in Content covered but never checked in Practical | BRCGS cl.7.1 | Understanding reconciliation and performing it are different things; an N/A in Practical cannot rest on Content covered alone. |
Case in point
Case in point: the check that existed on paper for eight months
A site had run labelling and packaging training on schedule for eight months. Every record showed full attendance, every content field ticked Yes, refresher dates all in date. Nothing in the register suggested a gap.
The recall came from a changeover where the wrong best-before label went on a full pallet. When the training records were pulled for the investigation, the planted-error field had been left at 'Partly' on every single record for that line — the second check had never actually been tested, only described.
The template
The template, field by field
The form exactly as it installs. Every field, option, score and conditional rule is editable, and the links to other templates come with it.
7 sections
- Reference
- TRN-075
- Archetype
- Training
- Record ID
- TRN-2026-000
- Scoring
- Knowledge check score
- Direction
- High is good
- Singleton
- Yes
- Basis
- BRCGS cl.7.1
- Links
- Links Label verification, Changeover
- Tags
- Training, Labelling
- Sections
- 7
- Fields
- 50
- Follow up fields
- 3
- Repeating sections
- 1
- Links out
- 5
Header
10 fieldsTraining ID*
Auto sequence. Format TRN-2026-0000.
The record's own ID. Other templates point at this value.
Status*
Drives who this goes to next.
- Planned2 pts
- In progress2 pts
- Complete3 pts
- Deferred0 pts
- Open0 pts
- Closed3 pts
- Overdue0 pts
Date and Time*
Completed By*
Site*
Site ID*
Format SITE-000.
Links to FDN-001 Site ID
Course*
Delivered By*
Duration Minutes*
The Leading Recall Cause
More product is recalled for the wrong label than anything else. The second person check exists because one person checking their own work does not catch their own error.
Content covered
8 fieldsLabel Verification Process Explained*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Why The Second Check Exists*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Allergen Declaration Checking Explained*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Date Code Calculation Explained*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Reconciliation Process Explained*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Artwork Version Control Explained*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Old Label Withdrawal Explained*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Stopping The Line On Doubt Explained*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Delivery quality
6 fieldsDelivered In Understood Language*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Site Specific Examples Used*
- Yes3 pts
- Generic only0 pts
Practical Element Included*
- Yes3 pts
- Demonstration only1 pt
- None0 pts
Questions Invited And Answered*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Materials Issued*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Delivered Before The Work Started*
- Yes3 pts
- Same day1 pt
- After0 pts
Practical
3 fieldsVerification Performed Under Supervision*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
A Planted Error Was Found*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Reconciliation Completed*
- Yes2 pts
- No0 pts
- N/Aexcluded from denominator
Attendance
Repeats6 fieldsAttendee*
Person ID
Links to FDN-003 Person ID
Attended Full Session*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Participated*
- Actively3 pts
- Some2 pts
- None1 pt
Understanding Confirmed*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Signature*
Knowledge check
6 fieldsCan Verify A Label Against Specification*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Knows How To Calculate A Date Code*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Knows To Stop On Doubt*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Pass Mark Percent*
Attendees Passed*
Retraining Required For Any*
- Yes2 pts
- No0 pts
- N/Aexcluded from denominator
Outcome
11 fieldsCompetency Matrix Updated*
- Yes3 pts
- No0 pts
Matrix ID
Links to TRN-020 Matrix ID
Refresher Due*
Action Required*
Raise the action record, then enter its reference here.
- No2 pts
- Yes0 pts
Priority
- High0 pts
- Medium1 pt
- Low3 pts
CAPA ID
Format CAPA-2026-00000.
Links to FDN-014 CAPA ID
Action Owner
Technical*
Signature*
Supervisor*
Second Signature*
TRN-075 · record IDs look like TRN-2026-000 · Links Label verification, Changeover
Open in KnowellaRun it with agents
From a document you fill in to a programme that runs itself
The form is the easy part. Testing the check for real, chasing the refresher date and keeping the competency matrix in step with what actually happened is the work that slips.
Holds the labelling and packaging training record against the competency matrix, flags refreshers before they lapse, and keeps attendance and knowledge-check evidence together.
Links this training to the Label Verification and Artwork Approval records it underpins, so a lapsed refresher shows up against the checks it is meant to support.
Tracks the training against BRCGS cl.7.1 for audit readiness, surfacing any record where the planted-error field was skipped before an auditor finds it first.
Coordinates the crew, rolls training completion and exceptions into one view, and holds every write for your approval before it touches a record.
This template lives in KnowTrain — training and credentials. Induction, competency, toolbox talks, refreshers and expiry tracking.
Meet KnowTrain→Glossary
Labelling and Packaging Training definitions and key terms
- Second-person check
- A verification performed by someone other than the person who did the original work, on the basis that a person checking their own output tends to see what they expect rather than what is there.
- Date coding
- The system used to calculate and print best-before or use-by information onto a pack, derived from production or packing date plus a fixed shelf life.
- Reconciliation
- Matching the quantity of labels or packaging materials issued against the quantity used and destroyed, to account for every unit and catch mislabelling by counting rather than inspection alone.
- Changeover
- The point at which a line switches from producing one product or pack format to another, and the highest-risk moment for the wrong label to be carried over.
- Planted error
- A deliberately incorrect label or detail inserted into a practical assessment to confirm the trainee's check catches it, rather than assuming understanding from a verbal answer.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about labelling and packaging training
What is labelling and packaging training?+
It is the training record behind BRCGS cl.7.1's label control requirement, covering label verification, artwork approval, date coding and reconciliation, and delivered to line staff and supervisors who perform the second check.
How is this different from the Label Verification Record?+
This template records that someone has been trained and tested on the process; Label Verification Record captures the actual two-person check performed at each changeover. One proves competence, the other proves the check happened.
Why does the form score a 'planted error' field separately from the content questions?+
Because self-reported understanding and a demonstrated catch are different kinds of evidence. The content questions show what was covered; the planted-error field is the only one that tests whether the second check actually works.
How often should this training be refreshed?+
The template carries a Refresher Due date rather than a fixed interval, because sites set this against their own risk assessment and training matrix cycle. It should never be a copy-forward from the previous record.
What happens if an attendee fails the knowledge check?+
Retraining Required is marked Yes and should trigger a linked action record with an owner; nothing in the form itself prevents that person continuing to verify labels unless the competency matrix is updated to reflect the failure.
Is this a singleton or one record per training session?+
It is a singleton per workspace — set up once and maintained as the running record for the programme, rather than a fresh submission for every individual session.
Keep going
Related templates and programmes
Industries this is written for
Programmes this belongs to
Used together in Labelling and Packaging
Product and SKU Register
Holds every product and pack format you make, with its specification, allergens, shelf life and customer
Label Verification Record
Verifies that the label on the line matches the specification for that product, covering allergens, claims, dates and barcodes
Artwork Approval Record
Records approval of new or amended artwork before it is printed, with each checker named
Date Coding Verification
Verifies date and batch coding is present, legible, correct and in the right position
Packaging Material Inspection
Inspects incoming packaging for damage, contamination, correct print and food contact compliance
Packaging Reconciliation Record
Reconciles packaging and label quantities issued, used and returned at the end of a run
More in Quality Training
Good Manufacturing Practice Training
Covers hygiene, clothing, jewellery, personal habits and behaviour in production areas
HACCP Training
Covers hazard analysis, critical control points, monitoring and corrective action
Allergen Awareness Training
Covers which allergens are handled, how cross contact happens and what changeover requires
Internal Auditor Training
Covers audit planning, evidence gathering, writing findings and reporting
Root Cause Analysis Training
Covers 5 Why, fishbone and structured causal analysis, with practice on real cases
Foreign Body Awareness Training
Covers the sources of foreign body on this site, what to do when one is found and why the search matters more than the finding
Written and reviewed by
Siddarth Singh
Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Knowella
Certified Safety Professional and industrial and systems engineer with more than a decade inside food supply chain, freight and manufacturing operations. This page was written against the current text of the standards it cites, not against secondary summaries of them.
- Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Board of Certified Safety Professionals
- MBA, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
- MS and BS, The Ohio State University, Industrial and Systems Engineering
- Six Sigma Black Belt
Sources and last review. Reviewed 16 August 2026 against:
- BRCGS Global Standard for Food Safety — cl.7.1 (Labelling and pack control)
- Food Information Regulations 2014 (UK), implementing Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011
- Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C. §343 (misbranding)
- GFSI Benchmarking Requirements — scheme recognition scope
This page is general guidance, not legal advice. Confirm requirements with your jurisdiction’s regulator.