BRCGS Food Safety Standard

The BRCGS Food Safety Standard  

The BRCGS Food Safety Standard is a globally accepted food safety standard and sets out the safety, quality and operational criteria a food manufacturing business needs in place to meet its obligations and protect consumers. 

The standard was the first to be benchmarked by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), and certification is frequently a condition of supply for major retailers in Ireland, the UK and internationally. 

Certification to BRCGS Food Safety independently verifies that your Food Safety Management System (FSMS) meets the requirements of the internationally recognised benchmark for best practice in food safety, quality and responsibility. 

BRCGS Food Safety covers seven sections: 

1. Senior management commitment and continual improvement 
2. The Food Safety Plan – Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) 
3. Food safety and quality management system 
4. Site standards 
5. Product control  
6. Process control 
7. Personnel  

These core requirements apply to every site, and there are two further sections covering production risk zones and traded products which apply to relevant operations. 

Have you been asked for BRC certification? 

BRC and BRCGS are the same thing. BRC Global Standards rebranded to BRCGS in 2019, and the standards formerly known as BRC Food Safety, BRC Packaging and BRC Storage & Distribution now carry the BRCGS name. 

If a customer has asked for BRC certification, BRCGS certification is what they mean – and it’s what we deliver. 

How Certification Works 

As the first step towards BRCGS Food Safety certification, it’s useful to read the standard, the Interpretation Guideline and any additional modules, all available from the BRCGS Store. There’s also a BRCGS Academy training for practical help with implementation, if needed.  

To get certified with Amtivo, you then need to: 

1. Make an enquiry to receive a quote: Contact us to discuss your application and we’ll provide a quote with no hidden costs, often delivered within 24 hours. 
2. Conduct an internal review: Conduct your self-assessment gap analysis against the standard. Assemble and train a team for implementation and consider hiring a consultant if needed. 
3. Prepare for the audit: Create an action plan from the self-assessment, carry out risk assessments, establish control points, prepare procedures and perform internal audits. 
4. Plan your audit: Schedule an audit with us, ensuring staff availability and readiness. 
5. On-site audit: Your auditor reviews your FSMS implementation by examining premises, procedures and documentation, and interviewing staff. 
6. Non-conformities and corrective action: Fix non-conformities (if any are raised) with corrective action and root cause analysis within 28 days of the audit. 
7. Certification and listing: We review your corrective actions and finalise the audit report, so successful sites can be certified quickly.  

Already certified with another body? Switching is as simple as booking your next audit with us. See how it works. 

What BRCGS Food Safety Certification Does for Your Business 

• Win and keep the business that matters: One certificate can answer the key questions retailers, distributors and export customers ask. Plus, GFSI recognition means BRCGS certification is widely accepted by major buyers worldwide, opening doors in the UK, the EU and beyond. 
• Fewer audits, less disruption: Without recognised certification, larger customers often audit you themselves. BRCGS Food Safety certification can stand in for many of those second-party visits, meaning less time is lost. 
• A stronger operation, not just a certificate: Building to the standard can sharpen the systems you run every day: helping risks get identified early, supporting allergen and process controls, and strengthening recall readiness, for example. 
• Support for your legal obligations: The documentation and certification demands can support and help evidence the food safety obligations you may already carry under EU and Irish law.