Food

Safety

BRCGS Global Standard

Food Safety
Guide to certification
 Engage with your
chosen certification
body as early in the
process as you can.

For more than

25 years, BRCGS
has been at the
forefront of
standards

With over 2,500

auditors worldwide,
BRCGS certification is
accessible no matter
where you are located.
LEADING THE WAY IN GLOBAL FOOD SAFETY
For more than 25 years, BRCGS has been at the forefront of standards, and at the
heart of our work is a mission to deliver the most rigorous third-party certification
schemes for the best results possible. BRCGS certification provides vital assurance
and confidence in the supply chain, and ensures high levels of safety and quality to
guarantee consumer protection. As the most established global market leader across
both food and non-food categories, BRCGS is the most recognised certification of its
type and is accepted globally by brands, retailers and specifiers.

With over 35,000 certificated sites in more than 130 countries, BRCGS certification
delivers trusted results and assurance of product integrity, which is why it is often
the preferred choice when it comes to GFSI benchmarked certification.

THE BRCGS GLOBAL STANDARD

FOOD SAFETY IS APPLICABLE
TO FOOD MANUFACTURING
ORGANISATIONS:

It specifies the safety, quality and operational

criteria required to be in place within a food
manufacturing organisation to fulfil obligations
regarding legal compliance and protection of
the consumer.

LEARN WITH THE

EXPERTS AT THE BRCGS ACADEMY
Over 65 interactive courses available all
delivered by experts worldwide in
a range of languages.
WHY CHOOSE THE MORE THAN
BRCGS GLOBAL CERTIFICATION – THE
STANDARD FOOD PROVEN ECONOMIC
SAFETY? BENEFITS
• The most widely Independent Research carried out by the University
accepted and specified by of Birkbeck found that sites certificated to a BRCGS
many retailers, Standard see benefits that go beyond compliance.
manufacturers, ingredients
companies, food service Commercial benefits
organisations and raw

50% 60%
material processors
worldwide.

• The most established and

trusted global certification benefit from benefit from
to protect your company’s domestic growth export growth
reputation, brand and image.

28% 47%
• Compliance with a standard that has been established
for 25 years, is GFSI benchmarked, accredited and
internationally recognised through IAF.

• It addresses consumer assurance demands and benefit from benefit from

demonstrates the adoption of industry best practice greater fewer customer
by encouraging the development of a food safety profitability audits
culture.

7.5% 6%
• Reduced costs of failure and fewer quality/safety
related customer complaints.

• Greater visibility of your business through your listing

on the BRGCS Directory; the tool that brands and average sales average increase
retailers use for supplier selection. growth in profitability
• With the widest range of additional modules BRCGS
provides a certification solution that truly meets your
business needs and reduces audit burden. Operational efficiencies and
improvements in productivity

70% 30%
have achieved
efficiencies and
have benefited
from product
greater productivity innovation

The standard can be

accessed free of charge
via the BRCGS Store.
63% 40%
reported
production
reduction in
food recalls
improvements
 Food
Safety

STEPS TO CERTIFICATION

1
GETTING STARTED
Read the Standard, Interpretation Guideline and relevant
Additional Modules publications thoroughly to familiarise
yourself with the requirements. Contact your chosen
BRCGS-approved certification body to discuss your application.

2 LEARN
Attend training with the BRCGS Academy to gain a practical
understanding of implementing the requirements.

3
REVIEW
Perform a self-assessment gap analysis with the Standard
(gap-analysis tool available on the BRCGS website). Assemble and
train a team for implementation. Obtain consultancy if needed.

4
PREPARE
Use the outputs of the self-assessment to develop an action plan to implement the
Standard requirements in your operation. Carry out risk assessments where needed and
establish necessary control points. Prepare your procedures and undertake internal audits.

5 PLAN AUDIT
Contact your chosen certification body to arrange an audit. Make sure you
plan ahead so that staff are available and preparations are made.

6 ON-SITE AUDIT
The audit will assess the practical implementation of the Standard
requirements. Observation of procedures and processes, review of
documentation, and staff interviews will all take place.

7 NON-CONFORMITIES AND CORRECTIVE ACTION

If non-conformities are identified, you will need to carry out any corrective action,
root cause analysis and plan preventive action. These will be closed out within 28
days following the audit.

8 CERTIFICATION
Your certification body will review the non-conformities and finalise the audit report to determine
whether certification be awarded. If certification is achieved, the certification body will issue your
certificate within 42 calendar days from the first day of your audit.
 THE ADDED VALUE OF
BRCGS CERTIFICATION
Once certificated, you will have exclusive access to
the BRCGS Service Package. This features a range of
tools to help sites continuously improve and maintain
compliance, providing added value outside of the audit
process.
• Access to Participate, an online library of all BRCGS
Standards, best practice guidance and supporting
materials.
• Unlimited enrolments for BRCGS Professional,
a globally recognised learning and development
programme to build skills and knowledge within your
business.
• Ethical appraisal tools to help you to respond
to increasing market requirements around ethical
operations and sustainability.

TRAINING FOR SITES • A taster of our culture measurement and analysis

tool, FSCE Basic, to drive culture improvements in your
PREPARING FOR FOOD business.
• Valuable insights into your audit performance through
SAFETY CERTIFICATION BRCGS Horizon.
Kick-start your preparation by attending a BRCGS
training course, which will provide you with the essential
knowledge and insights required for a successful
certification audit.

FOOD SAFETY SITES TRAINING

COURSE (2 days)
By the end of this course you will:
• Understand what is required to comply with and
practically implement the Standard requirements
• Be able to describe the scope of companies and
products covered by the Standard

• Know how to prepare for an audit and what to expect

during the audit

• Know to use the BRCGS resources and tools available

to support compliance

Find out more and book your place at

www.brcgs.com/training/overview

All certificated sites feature in the BRCGS

Directory, the ‘shop window’ for brands and
retailers looking for trusted suppliers.
BRCGS certification audits
are delivered by a global
network of approved
certification
bodies

TIP FOR BEST SUCCESS

Use the Interpretation Guideline alongside
the Standard when implementing the
requirements. It will help you to understand
each requirement and ways to comply.
BRCGS
LGC - Floor 2
80 Victoria Street
London SW1E 5JL

T: +44 (0)20 3931 8150

E: [email protected]

‘To learn more about BRCGS and certification,

please visit brcgs.com.

To access or purchase a BRCGS Global Standard or to book training,

please visit brcgs.com/store.

To find a BRCGS-approved certification body,

please visit directory.brcgs.com.