As the first standard to comply with the Global Food Safety Initiative, BRCGS is among the most widespread standards in the food industry, and is firmly established both in Europe and around the globe.

Originally conceived as a protocol for products produced under brands of retail chains in 1998, its current scope is much wider, tailoring to most areas of the food supply chain. Furthermore, the standard helped the food industry meet the criteria of the EU General Product Safety Directive, resulting in global acclaim. With 22,000+ certified sites in over 130 countries, a certificate testifies that product safety, integrity, legality and quality are present in the production and handling processes. A certificate can be acquired through a third-party audit performed by an accredited certification body, while the frequency of the audits varies, either 6 or 12 months, depending on the performance of the applicant.

Certima BV is accredited to perform audits for the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety standard by RvA (the Dutch Accreditation Council).

BRCGS certification offers multiple advantages:

• New business opportunities– Improve your ability to work with the various organizations for which BRCGS certification is a contractual obligation or expectation and is a tool to demonstrate a high level of safety of manufactured foods.
• Customer confidence – The BRC Global Standard helps you protect your brand, boosting customers confidence in your production programs and supply chain management, while gaining the ability to track your certificates with the online BRCGS directory.
• Supply chain access– The BRC Global Standard for Food Safety is accepted and specified by many global retailers, manufacturers, ingredients companies, food service organizations and raw material processors as part of their supplier approval process.
• Competitive advantage– A certificate provides an edge over uncertified competitors who are likely to appear less credible and professional.

BRCGS Food Safety Standard Issue 9 was published in August 2022, with audits commencing from February 2023. The focus of attention for this issue has been on:

• Further development of product safety culture
• Expanding the requirements for environmental monitoring
• Building Core Competencies
• Encouraging sites to further develop systems for security and food defense
• Clarifying the requirements for high-risk, high-care and ambient high-care production risk zones
• Ensuring global applicability and benchmarking to the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI)

This standard was created by the British Retail Consortium in 1998 as a protocol for organizations producing products under the brand of retail chains but at the present is primarily active in areas of the food industry. BRCGS has established itself as a tool for many regional and international companies to assess their suppliers. BRCGS Global Food standard is recognized by more than two-thirds of major retailers worldwide.

BRCGS Food Certification by an independent certification organization is a tool to demonstrate a high level of safety of manufactured foods.

Another advantage that this certificate gives you is the opportunity to become part of the so-called BRCGS directory where all users of the BRCGS website can track your certification.

BRCGS is designed to help retailers to comply with legal requirements and to ensure high level of consumer protection. It includes the basic principles of their own supplier requirements and product specifications and is revised and reissued periodically.

BRCGS Food Standard supports unannounced audits.

There are 5 grades of certification: AA being the highest level, followed by grades A, B, C and D. The grade depends on the number and severity of the non-conformities found during the audit. For unannounced audits the + symbol is added to the grade.

At the certification decision, both the audit grade and the quality and timeliness of your Corrective Action Plan are taken into account.

Certima B.V. has built a strong reputation over nearly two decades as a trusted, competent and efficient certification body for the BRCGS Global Standard for Food Safety. We are here to help you stay compliant, reduce risks, operate safely and grow confidently.

If you are ready to explore how Certima can help you achieve certification and enhance your business’s credibility, visit: https://certima.org/offer/ .