BRCGS

The certification provides a solid framework around the management of product safety, integrity, legality and quality by defining the necessary operational controls for the manufacturing, processing and packing of food and food ingredients.  

BRCGS food safety focuses on:

• Senior management commitment and the development of a culture of product safety
• Hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) and a food safety plan 
• Quality management systems
• Environmental and operational conditions
• Development of food fraud prevention systems
• Developing systems for product security and food defense  
• Developing risk zones 

BRCGS Packaging Materials Global Standard

The BRCGS Packaging Materials Global Standard can be used by a manufacturer that produces packaging materials for all types of products, from food to consumer goods, and is applicable to packaging that comes into direct or indirect contact to the products. It is designed to provide a standard that acts an efficient and effective tool for the packaging industry to ensure consumer safety and compliance with legal requirements. 

This standard was developed by BRC, it recognises two categories of operations:

• High Hygiene Risk: ‘Packaging that comes into direct contact with food products or other designated hygiene-sensitive products. Primary packaging used for food or other hygiene-sensitive products where there is no absolute barrier in place  
• Low Hygiene Risk: ‘Packaging for consumer products and the secondary and tertiary packaging for all uses’ 

BRCGS packaging standard examines:

• Senior management commitment and the development of a culture of product safety 
• Hazard and Risk Management System based on Hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) 
• Product Safety and Quality management systems 
• Environmental and operational conditions 
• Product and Process Controls 
• Personnel 

BRCGS certification benefits

• Adopt a single-standard third-party certification for evaluation to significantly reduce costs, effort and time
• Improve business performance through continuous improvement resulting in increased efficiency
• Gain competitive advantage by demonstrating competence on quality, hygiene, and food safety
• Explore opportunity to expand business and seek new markets where BRCGS certification is required
• Build brand and customer confidence through establishing a self-improving quality, hygiene, and product safety system
• Address due diligence along supply chain for leveraging BRCGS standards throughout the supply journeys 

About Additional Modules

In addition to the core Global Standard Food Safety we have developed a range of additional modules that can be added to the normal audit process.

This offers some great customer advantages:

Reduce audit burden (and therefore cost) by including requirements that historically needed a separate audit; for example, second party audits.

Meet specific geographic or customer needs, especially when a brand owner or specifier wants additional requirements to complement the Standard.

Apply to particular types of operations or look in greater detail at a particular market concern, e.g. the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), or organisational food safety culture.

There are two types of additional modules:

o Public modules which are recorded on the BRCGS audit report and visible in the public section of the BRCGS Directory.

o Private modules which relate to the requirements of a specific company or customer and are uploaded to a separate section of the BRCGS Directory which is only visible to the audited site and, where applicable, the specific customer.