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Industry film

ISO and GRC standards for food and beverage: where to start: video

A short film on the food safety schemes retailers, brand owners and export markets ask for, and how to start from your own process flow.

  • Industry film
  • 2 min 15 s

Key takeaways

  • The customer usually names the food safety scheme it accepts.
  • ISO 22000 alone is not GFSI-recognised; FSSC 22000, BRCGS, IFS Food and SQF are.
  • A HACCP-based system underpins every scheme.
  • Halal requirements are set by the destination market.
  • Build for unannounced audits: the system should run the same on any day.

Your customer names the scheme

In food and beverage, the customer usually decides which food safety certificate it accepts. The options include ISO 22000 for the food safety management system, FSSC 22000 as a GFSI-recognised scheme, HACCP for hazard control, BRCGS Food Safety with its graded site audit, IFS Food for private-label supply, SQF with its scored food safety audit, GLOBALG.A.P. for farm assurance and Halal certification for export markets.

Across all of these, the film's common thread is the HACCP-based system underneath: prerequisite programmes, the HACCP plan, allergen and traceability controls, and the records an auditor tests on every line and every shift.

Retailers and export customers that ask for GFSI recognition point to schemes such as FSSC 22000, BRCGS, SQF or IFS, each built on a sound HACCP system.

Why certification is requested now, and where to start

The request usually arrives in a supplier questionnaire or a new contract. Many retailers and brand owners write GFSI-recognised certification into their supplier programmes, and ISO 22000 on its own is not recognised, which is why FSSC 22000, BRCGS, IFS Food and SQF exist. Export buyers may name a different scheme from home customers, and halal requirements are set by the destination market. National food hygiene rules are built on the Codex HACCP principles, and facilities supplying the United States answer to FDA rules. Some schemes add unannounced audits, so the system has to run the same on any day.

The starting point is the scheme your retailer or brand owner names in its supplier programme, not the nearest substitute, built on a sound HACCP system. A well-built foundation can then satisfy the next scheme a customer asks for with far less new work. The free readiness checks and Select the Standard™ show where a site stands before any commitment.

In plants, kitchens and warehouses, Sterling's food safety consultants build HACCP-based systems with your team, in one proposal that covers Effivity, Sterling Academy access and internal auditor training as applicable. The scheme's certification body audits and decides.

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