BRCGS Food Certification

GLOBAL STANDARD FOR FOOD SAFETY

What is the BRCGS Food standard?

Food producers and the Organized Large-Scale Retail (GDO) increasingly need to demonstrate guarantees on the quality, authenticity, legality, and food safety of products to consumers and the competent authorities. The BRCGS Food standard was developed with the aim of defining the food safety and quality requirements, as well as the operational criteria that must be met by companies operating in the food production sector, in order to fulfill all the obligations required by the current regulations and fully meet customer expectations.

The BRCGS Food standard sets out the requirements for food safety, quality, and operational criteria that must be met by food production companies. It was developed to help food producers and retailers ensure the safety and quality of food products, as well as to provide a framework for demonstrating compliance with relevant regulations and customer expectations.

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How to obtain the certification according to the BRCGS Food guideline?

Bureau Veritas holds the UKAS accreditation to conduct audits according to the BRCGS FOOD standard. The main stages of the certification process include:

  • INITIAL AUDIT
    • Preliminary verification (upon request): analysis of the gaps and assessment of the organization's current compliance with the requirements;
    • Certification audit, which results in the issuance of the certificate;
  • RENEWAL AUDITS
    The renewal visits are annual or semi-annual, depending on the grade obtained, and are aimed at verifying continuous improvement and maintaining compliance with the standard. The certificate and the Audit Report are then uploaded to the BRCGS portal, available to all clients. The company has the possibility to choose the mode of the audit (announced, unannounced), although, according to the scheme rules, at least one Audit every three must be carried out in an unannounced mode. The organization can also request that the audit be combined with other private standards (e.g., IFS) and/or that the verification include any additional modules provided for by the BRCGS FOOD scheme (e.g., FSMA).

The BRCGS Food certification process involves an initial audit to assess the organization's compliance with the standard, followed by periodic renewal audits to ensure ongoing conformity. Bureau Veritas, as an accredited certification body, can conduct these audits and issue the BRCGS Food certificate, which is then made available to the organization's clients through the BRCGS portal.

FAQ - Frequently asked questions about the BRCGS Food guideline

  • In which sectors can the BRCGS FOOD certification be applied?

    • Companies producing processed foods, both under their own brand and under the customer's brand;
    • Companies producing raw materials or ingredients intended for further processing;
    • Companies producing primary products, such as fruits and vegetables;
    • Companies producing pet foods, animal feeds, and products derived from primary animal conversion;
    • Storage facilities that fall under the direct control of the management of the certified site and the marketed products (products that are purchased and stored at the facility).

  • What are the main benefits of BRCGS Food Certification?

    Some of the main benefits for BRCGS Food certified companies are:

    • Guarantee of product safety, authenticity, legality, and quality, as well as due diligence;
    • Credibility, trust, and visibility (it is a unique standard, recognized internationally, and the audits are carried out by an independent and accredited third-party organization);
    • Free access to a comprehensive set of tools and documents.

  • How does the BRCGS FOOD unannounced audit take place?

    In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in unannounced audits, as their selection indicates greater trust in a site's food safety management systems. With the new version, the GFSI rule for conducting an unannounced audit every 3 years becomes mandatory. Therefore, the company, while having the option to decide which method to choose (announced or unannounced), will have to consider that at least 1 audit every 3 must be carried out in an unannounced manner, even in the case of participation in the announced audit program.

    Since the unannounced audit is a surprise, the company will not be contacted for the audit planning, and on the day of the audit, the assessor must access the production areas within 30 minutes of their arrival on site. It is also at the organization's discretion to indicate a maximum of 10 days (block dates) when they cannot receive the unannounced audit. These must be communicated to Bureau Veritas before the audit (within 3 months of the last audit).

  • BRCGS Food Certification. What are the additional modules and what are they?

    The standard has been designed to allow the inclusion of additional modules within the audit. The purpose of these additional modules is to enable sites to demonstrate compliance with specific "sets" of requirements in order to meet specific markets or customers without the need for a separate audit, thus reducing the number of audits on the site. A list of the available modules is available on the BRCGS Global Standards website. If a site wishes to include one or more additional modules as part of its BRCGS Global Standards audit, it must notify the Certification Body before the audit.