Food Industry Standards

BRC Global Standards (BRCGS) with BRCGS Consultants

Formally known as BRC Global Standards, now known as BRCGS. This stands for Brand Reputation Compliance Global Standards. These are a suite of Standards that specify requirements to support the safety of food and consumer products. We are BRCGS Consultants and we are here to help with your BRCGS implementation.

BRCGS Food Safety

BRCGS Food Safety provides certification for food manufacturers. Those implementing good manufacturing practices and supporting quality systems to produce safe, legal products while meeting their customers’ requirements will find it beneficial.

Any food/drink processing or packing operation where they handle open food/consumables can apply for BRCGS Food Safety. The function can range from primary products such as fresh produce, packhouses, and slaughterhouses to processed foods and high risk, ready to eat products.

We are currently at Issue 9 of the standard, there is currently no indication of any planned changes.

BRCGS Packaging

BRCGS Packaging assists packaging manufacturers in adopting good manufacturing practices and systems to develop and manufacture safe and legal packaging materials.

The Standard applies to organisations producing packaging materials for food and consumer products.

It recognises two levels of hygiene risk. Depending on the end-use of the packaging, for instance, direct food contact is the highest level and will fall into the high hygiene risk category. In contrast, non-food packaging will fall into the low hygiene risk category.

This standard is currently under its 7th revision.

BRCGS Storage & Distribution

BRCGS Storage & Distribution provides best practice requirements for maintaining safety and quality during the storage and distribution of products.

The document contains separate modules for:

• Storage and distribution
• Wholesale
• E-Commerce
• Contracted services
• Contracted packing
• Cross-docking
• Inspection
• Waste management

This Standard allows for organisations to opt for the full scope (e.g. Storage and Distribution), or the relevant scope (e.g. Storage only or Transport only).

BRCGS Consumer Products

BRCGS Consumer Products helps manufacturers and packers of all consumer goods adopt good manufacturing practices to produce safe, consistent, legal products and meet their customers’ requirements.

Consumer products cover an extensive and diverse range of goods. The Standard identifies categories divided by product technology and material type. It Standard applies to all kinds of consumer goods such as:

• Toys
• Textiles
• Electrical items
• Kitchenware
• DIY items
• Cosmetics

The Standard excludes some products from the scope, such as motor vehicles, bulk fuel, services, pharmaceuticals dispensed by doctors, vitamins & minerals, plants & flowers, and live animals/pets.

BRCGS Agents & Brokers

BRCGS Agents & Brokers help manage safety, quality, authenticity and legality for businesses in the food industries which buy, sell or facilitate the trade of products.

HACCP, good manufacturing practices, and supporting quality management systems form the base of the Standard. The Standard is GFSI benchmarked.

The Standard covers food, packaging materials, pet food for domestic animals, and consumer products. It does not include livestock, animal feed for livestock, bulk fuels, or pharmaceuticals.

We help implement systems from scratch or develop your documents into a simple and easy-to-follow framework. Through internal audits, we help you identify what you are doing well and address areas requiring improvement.

For further information or assistance with the standard, please click here to contact BRCGS Consultants.

HACCP

HACCP is a legal requirement for food businesses. The document specifies the requirements for a food safety management system. You can find further details of this requirement in The Food Hygiene (England) Regulations (2013). 

HACCP assesses risk to products against various hazards, including microbiological, physical, and chemical.

We have the knowledge and experience of establishing and implementing HACCP into a wide range of food businesses.

Not only is a HACCP management system a legal requirement, but if implemented correctly can be highly beneficial for the following reasons:

• It promotes product safety – staff are made aware of the HACCP plan, ensuring they keep food safe during operations.
• The Codex principles form the base of HACCP, which provides a logical and consistent system.
• Through review and analysis, the identification and mitigation of risks and weaknesses take place.
• HACCP is recognised globally and is likely to be of interest to your existing and prospective clients. It is a fundamental requirement if you are looking to obtain certification to a food standard, e.g., BRCGS, IFS, ISO FSSC 22000.
• It can reduce costs. However, this benefit is not measurable from an ROI perspective. The idea of HACCP should ensure that you get it right the first time, preventing any significant food safety issues in the future.

HACCP PDF fact sheet download 

SALSA

SALSA is a food-safety standard. Experienced food safety experts have produced the Standard to reflect producers’ legal requirements and the expectations of professional food buyers.

We have a team of highly qualified consultants with the knowledge and experience in implementing SALSA certification.

The main objective is to provide affordable food safety certification and support for small and micro businesses in the United Kingdom.

WHO NEEDS SALSA

Many UK’s major buyers, including supermarkets, food services, catering suppliers, local authorities, and health trusts, see local sourcing as a primary objective. This has resulted in Increasing demand for locally or regionally sourced products within the food industry.

SALSA is specifically for buyers and smaller food producers. It provides a robust and effective food safety certification scheme that is more appropriate for smaller food producers and processors than the BRC Global Standards.

Above all else, the SALSA scheme encourages small and micro businesses to implement practices and controls that produce consistently safe food.

For a FREE consultation on how BRCGS Consultants can assist you in achieving SALSA Certification, contact us now.

SALSA PDF fact sheet download 

ISO FSSC 22000 FOOD SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

ISO FSSC 22000 food safety management systems is an international standard for a food safety management system. It involves communication, system management, prerequisite programs, and HACCP principles. It is important to note that the FSSC is what makes it GFSI approved. Without this, your certification would not be considered GFSI.

The Standard has a similar format to ISO 9001 and various other ISO standards. This makes it a good opportunity to develop an integrated management system. It helps you manage food safety risks and communicate this publicly, giving stakeholders confidence that you are serious about safety. It is recognised across the global food chain. Indeed, larger food producers, in particular, may well favour those with ISO FSSC 22000. The majority of food companies have to meet the requirements of many standards and schemes. ISO FSSC 22000 provides a platform to harmonise all HACCP-based standards.

ISO FSSC 22000 is relevant to all parts of the food supply chain regardless of size. It applies to organisations that need to show their compliance with all applicable legislative food safety requirements in addition to adherence to their own stated food safety policy.

Organisations can implement ISO 22000 without the FSSC. FSSC 22000 is the first global food safety initiative (GFSI) standard specifically targeted at the food manufacturing sector. We always recommend that FSSC is included if you are looking to work with any Tier 1 / blue-chip organisations such as supermarkets.

We are expecting a new version of this standard to be published late 2026.

ISO 22000 PDF fact sheet download 

IFS STANDARDS

We are familiar with the IFS suite of Standards. Known as International Featured Standards (IFS), there are eight different food & non-food standards.

The IFS Food Standard is rapidly becoming a fundamental requirement. Many leading European retailers require it. You can learn more about IFS here.

For more information, please get in touch with BRCGS Consultants.