Two-minute brief
BRCGS Food Safety and Packaging Materials requirements explained: video brief
A two-minute brief on the BRCGS product safety and quality standards for food sites and packaging manufacturers, and what they require.
Key takeaways
- BRCGS Food Safety covers food sites; BRCGS Packaging Materials covers packaging manufacturers.
- Both are GFSI-recognised.
- Senior management commitment and culture come first.
- HACCP or hazard analysis, site standards and product and process control follow.
- Food sites are graded AA to D by BRCGS-approved certification bodies.
Two BRCGS standards, one approach
BRCGS publishes a family of product safety standards. The Global Standard Food Safety applies to sites that manufacture, process or pack food and food ingredients; the Global Standard Packaging Materials applies to manufacturers of packaging and packaging materials, notably for food, so that packaging does not put the product inside it at risk. Both are recognised by the Global Food Safety Initiative, which is why food brands and retailers that build their supplier programmes on GFSI accept them. This short film covers what the two have in common.
Both start with senior management commitment: leadership, culture and resources for product safety and quality. In the Food Safety standard, Issue 9, that includes a food safety culture plan with actions and measures, reviews that decide, and the site's obligations to the Standard and the certification body. Both require hazard and risk management: for food, a Codex-based HACCP plan with team, product descriptions, flow diagrams, hazard analysis, critical control points, monitoring and corrective action; for packaging, a hazard analysis of materials and processes with controls.
System, site, product, process and people
Both then require a documented product safety and quality system, with procedures, specifications, traceability and complaint handling; site standards covering premises, hygiene, foreign-body and pest control; product and process control, from production to inspection, release and change control; and people who are trained, competent and follow personal hygiene rules. Useful evidence includes a current hazard analysis, specifications agreed with customers, traceability tests, hygiene and pest records, glass and brittle plastic checks, complaint investigations and training records.
The Food Safety standard sets its requirements in nine sections, each with a statement of intent and numbered clauses, some designated fundamental, and sites are audited and graded from AA to D by certification bodies approved by BRCGS and accredited to ISO/IEC 17065. The Packaging Materials standard is currently at Issue 7. Certificates are issued after an audit by an independent certification body.
BRCGS Food Safety at a glance
- Purpose
- A site standard for the safety, quality, authenticity and legality of food: HACCP-based food safety plan, management system, site standards and product, process and people controls, audited and graded
- Relevant to
- Food and ingredient manufacturers, processors and packers in 18 product categories, from raw meat and dairy to bakery, beverages and pet food, with traded products optional
- Edition
- Issue 9, published 1 August 2022, audited since 1 February 2023, position statements effective 10 August 2026; Issue 10 in development, no dates announced
- Certification
- Audited, graded AA to D and decided by a BRCGS-approved certification body accredited to ISO/IEC 17065; GFSI-recognised; certificates listed in the BRCGS Directory
- Sterling's role
- Gap analysis, food safety plan, site and product controls, documentation, Effivity, training, internal audit and audit readiness, then Sustain™
- Cost and timing
- Total investment for a BRCGS food safety system depends on the current maturity of your processes, the scope, locations and number of employees. The process typically takes 5 to 10 months
BRCGS Food Safety: questions people ask
What does the BRCGS Global Standard Food Safety cover?
The safety, quality, authenticity and legality of food made, processed or packed at a site, in nine sections: senior management commitment, the HACCP-based food safety plan, the management system, site standards, product control, process control, personnel, production risk zones and traded products. It spans 18 product categories, from raw meat and fish to dairy, bakery, beverages, dried foods, confectionery, oils and pet food.
Is BRCGS Food Safety recognised by GFSI?
Yes. Issue 9 is on GFSI's list of recognised certification programmes, announced and unannounced options both, benchmarked against the GFSI Benchmarking Requirements version 2020; BRCGS was the first standard GFSI benchmarked. A certificate from an approved body meets a request for GFSI-recognised certification; check whether the customer also names a grade or the unannounced programme.
BRCGS, FSSC 22000 or ISO 22000: which should we choose?
Ask the customer first. ISO 22000 is a management system standard and is not GFSI-recognised on its own; FSSC 22000 adds sector prerequisite programmes and scheme requirements to it and is recognised; BRCGS is a prescriptive, recognised site standard that produces a grade. A site that wants room to design its own controls tends towards FSSC 22000; a site supplying retailers that read grades and Directory reports tends towards BRCGS.
What do the grades AA to D mean, and what is the "+"?
The certification body grades the audit from the number and severity of the nonconformities it raises, from AA at the top through A, B and C to D; a critical nonconformity means no certificate. An unannounced audit adds a "+", so AA+ tells a customer the site earned its grade on a day it did not choose. The grade sets the certificate's life, twelve months or six, and in practice how a retailer ranks you against other suppliers.
Announced, blended or unannounced: which audit programme is right for us?
All three lead to the same certificate. On the announced programme the date is agreed, but at least one audit in every three years is unannounced anyway. The blended programme, for re-certification audits only, splits the audit into a remote review of records and an on-site part within 28 days of it, the remote part at most half the duration. The unannounced programme earns the "+" on every certificate and suits a site whose system runs the same every day.
Keep exploring
Related to this video
The complete guide
Everything on BRCGS Food Safety
Start with the BRCGS Food Safety page · BRCGS Packaging Materials, or go straight to the guide you need.
On the BRCGS Food Safety page
- What are the main BRCGS Food Safety requirements?
- How do you get BRCGS Food Safety certified?
- How much does BRCGS Food Safety certification cost?
- How long does BRCGS Food Safety certification take?
- Who needs BRCGS Food Safety certification?
- How BRCGS Food Safety protects your customers, your brand and your listing
- Frequently asked questions about BRCGS Food Safety
Often combined with BRCGS Food Safety
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