What is a BRC certificate?

What does BRC stand for? 

BRC stands for British Retail Consortium. In 2003 this professional association of distributors set a specific standard for better food safety and the control of food products. The international standard set out by the BRC can be monitored by a third independent party (the certifying organisation) at your company. These requirements are regularly evaluated to correspond with market developments and changes in laws and regulations. 

What does a BRC audit involve? 

If you want your company BRC-certified an independent party will carry out a BRC audit. More than 300 points are checked at your company both on paper and physically on the shop floor. You can be awarded the BRC certificate based on the number of points for which you score sufficient to good. The highest standard is the BRC A-grade. You can be awarded this if there are no remarks for at most 10 of the 300 points. 

For how long is BRC certification valid? 

Once you have the BRC certificate for your foodstuffs you are still not exempt from audits and controls. If you want to keep the BRC certificate for a longer time, your company will be subjected to this annual audit. This means the BRC certificate is only valid for one year. This is because the standard can be changed over the years. Hence account must be taken of laws and regulations, and developments in the food industry market. This makes the BRC certificate a leading standard in the food industry. 

BRC Global Standards

You can read a brief summary of the content of the BRC Global Standards below. The standard consists of no fewer than seven sections. The following aspects are examined in detail: 

• Standards at the establishment
  Requirements regarding the equipment, maintenance, social spaces and the risk of contamination are included in the assessment of the standards at the establishment. 
• Product control
  Here the business process is assessed for the design, packaging, inspection and release of products. Allergen management and claims guarantees are also looked at. 
• The food safety and quality management system
  This aspect is based on the ISO 9001 certificate. There are checks concerning product specifications, supplier inspections, traceability, etc 
• Food safety plan - HACCP
  To secure the BRC certificate there must be an HACCP plan in place, the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points plan. Read more about the HACCP certificate here. 
• Involvement of senior management
  It is important that senior management is fully involved with the implementation of the standard. Your company will be thoroughly assessed for this. 
• Process control
  Operational control of production is required to obtain a BRC certificate. This is achieved by carrying out documented procedures and work instructions, for example. 
• Personnel
  Qualified and competent personnel is the last requirement for the BRC certificate. Personal hygiene and training are at the heart of this aspect. To suffice with regard to personal hygiene it is advisable to invest in advanced and automated systems to be able to guarantee the hygiene of your employees. 

Personal hygiene assurance

To be able to assure the personal hygiene of your personnel, you can for example invest in hygiene stations, hand disinfection systems and hand wash basins. This ensures a 'waterproof hygiene protocol' and guarantees an immaculate production environment. Such products are essential in the food industry to obtain your BRC certificate.