What is BRC?
The British Retail Consortium, BRC is a trade association for UK retail businesses working to make a positive difference to the retail industry. The BRCGS Global standards were developed as a division of BRC. In 2016 LGC Group acquired BRCGS (formally BRC Global Standards).
What is BRCGS?
Developed as a division of BRC in 1996, BRCGS was founded by retailers to harmonize food safety standards. Since then they have developed many Global Standards including the BRCGS Global Food Safety Standard. Over 22000 sites worldwide have obtained certification to the BRCGS Food Safety Standard. The current edition is edition 9.
Other standards include Food Safety Culture Excellence, Gluten Free Certification, Packaging Materials, Plant-Based Certification, Storage and Distribution and others.
The requirements of the standard address the key elements that must be in place for your organization to ensure the production of safe products. BRCGS Certification is recognized by GFSI, which is an important consideration when choosing a certification scheme because many major manufacturers and retailers require a GFSI-recognized certification. Other recognized certification schemes include FSSC 22000 and SQF.
Over 16,000 facilities worldwide are certified by the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety. To add your organization or facilities to this list you will need to build a management system that addresses all of the requirements of the standard, contract with a Certification Body to perform a certification audit, and pass the audit to become certified. Your organization will then need to have regular audits by the Certification Body to maintain registration.
The current issue is BRCGS Issue 9. Issue 9 was released in August 2022.
NEW! View our BRCGS Issue 9 Online Training Courses
Benefits of BRCGS Certification
With a GFSI-recognized food safety certification, your organization can access those parts of the market that are only available to those that are certified. More and more manufacturers and retailers are protecting their product safety and brand reputation by requiring suppliers to achieve and maintain one of these certifications.
Opportunities for certified companies are expanding, while those for companies that are not certified are decreasing. By achieving certification you are also protecting your product, customers, and brand. Once you have implemented and are following the system based on the requirements of the standard you choose, you will be following best practices for food safety management.
What does BRCGS Require?
The BRC Global Standard has requirements for:
Management Commitment Prerequisite programs
HACCP
Food Safety and Quality Manual
Document Control
Records
Internal Audits
Supplier Approval
Specifications
Corrective Actions
Control of Nonconforming Product
Traceability
Complaint Handling
Management of Incidents
Site Standards
Product Design and Development
Management of Allergens
Provenance, Assured Status, and Identity Preserved
Materials Packaging
Product Inspection and Testing
Product Release
Control of Operations
Calibration and Control of Measuring and Monitoring Devices
Training
Personal Hygiene
Medical Screening
Protective Clothing
The requirements are found in the “BRC Global Standard for Food Safety, which can be purchased at www.brcglobalstandards.com.
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