Standard for Food Safety

What is the BRC Food Safety Certification Standard?

Food Safety

The BRC (commonly referred to as The British Retail Consortium) Global Standard for Food Safety is regarded as a benchmark for compliance to good practice in food industry standards; and is a GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) recognised Standard.

The BRC Food Safety Standard BRC Food Safety is the leading GFSI certification scheme in the UK, with many UK retailers preferring their tier 1 suppliers to hold a BRC Food Safety certificate. The British Standards Institution (BSI) is an approved certification body for BRC Global Standards certification schemes, and provides audits and training against the BRC Food Safety Standard.

How is a BRC Food Safety Audit Graded?

A BRC Food Safety Audit can be conducted as either announced or unannounced.

Announced BRC Food Safety Audits are graded A-D, and U (uncertified). If a U is attained, re-audit is required before certification can be awarded. Grades A-D are awarded on the basis of the number and severity of corrective actions identified in the BRC Food Safety audit.

Food Manufacturers and Suppliers can achieve a higher BRC audit grade of AA+ in an unannounced BRC Food Safety Audit. All audit grades (other than U) attained via an unannounced audit will gain a ‘+’ to the letter of the audit grade. Some companies prefer their suppliers to comply to unannounced audits, and others (including retailers) mandate unannounced audits as a requirement for their suppliers.

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What is the scope of a BRC Food Safety Audit and what are the requirements to achieve BRC Certification?

The scope and audit duration of individual audits will be unique to individual food manufacturing facilities. The requirements to achieve a BRC Food Safety Certificate are contained in the clauses of the BRC Food Safety Standard. The key areas that the BRC Food Safety Standard (Version 7) covers are:

Senior Management Commitment
The Food Safety Plan- HACCP
Food Safety and Quality Management System
Site Standards
Product Control
Process Control
Personnel

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In a world where standing out from the crowd (or on the shelf) is increasingly difficult, we're helping food manufacturers to differentiate their business, with our HACCP & GMP Assurance Mark. The Assurance Mark is achieved upon successful certification to the BSI HACCP & GMP Standard - which can be bolted onto your BRC Food Safety or FSSC 22000 audit at no extra charge (subject to BSI discretion).