Audits & Certifications

BRCGS: What It Is and What the Certification Requires

By Claudia · · 6 min read

BRCGS: what it is and what the certification requires

BRCGS: what it is and what the certification requires

If you work in quality within the food industry, chances are you've heard of BRCGS more than once. That's no accident: it's one of the most widely adopted food safety standards in the world, especially among companies that supply large retail chains. In this article, we explain exactly what this standard is, what it requires, how it differs from other schemes, and how you can prepare efficiently for the audit.

What BRCGS is and why it's one of the GFSI-recognized standards

BRCGS (Brand Reputation Compliance Global Standards) was launched in the UK in 1998 by the British Retail Consortium. Its original goal was to give large retailers a common evaluation tool for their food suppliers. Over time, the standard evolved, gained international recognition, and is now a global benchmark.

One of the reasons for its weight in the market is that it's recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) (GFSI, n.d.), the reference body that benchmarks food safety schemes worldwide. This GFSI recognition puts BRCGS on par with other standards such as IFS Food or FSSC 22000, letting operators across the food chain prove compliance with a single certificate for different customers.

The BRCGS Food Safety standard is currently in its 9th version, and its requirements go well beyond product safety. It covers system management, organizational culture, and crisis response capability. More than 30,000 companies in over 130 countries hold this certification, which gives a sense of its true reach.

What the BRCGS food standard covers

The BRCGS food standard is a broad, demanding standard that organizes its requirements into several key thematic blocks. Knowing them well is the first step toward solid audit preparation.

Food safety culture. Since version 8, food safety culture has been an explicit requirement. The standard requires senior management to show real, measurable commitment — not just a stated one. That means setting specific objectives, communicating them across the organization, and periodically assessing whether they're being met. It's one of the aspects that sets BRCGS apart most from earlier standards, and it has the biggest impact on how teams are managed.

HACCP system. Hazard analysis and critical control points remain the technical core of any food safety certification. BRCGS requires the HACCP system to be fully documented, based on the Codex Alimentarius (Codex Alimentarius, n.d.), and reviewed whenever the process, product, or facilities change. The HACCP team must be multidisciplinary, and evidence of its meetings and reviews must be available to the auditor.

Good manufacturing practices (GMP). The standard sets out detailed requirements for facilities, equipment, maintenance, cleaning and disinfection, pest control, allergen management, and product control. These requirements are specific and auditable: the auditor will verify on site that real conditions match what's described in the written procedures.

Crisis management and product recall. BRCGS requires a documented procedure for withdrawing and recalling products from the market. This procedure has to be tested through periodic simulations, and records of those tests must be available. Full batch-to-batch traceability is a non-negotiable requirement.

How it compares to and differs from IFS Food

The comparison between BRCGS and IFS Food comes up constantly in the industry, and for good reason: both are GFSI-recognized schemes, both audit food safety comprehensively, and many companies have to choose between the two based on what their customers require.

The similarities are clear. Both standards require a documented HACCP system, prerequisite programs, allergen management, traceability, crisis plans, and a strong focus on continuous improvement. Both rely on on-site audits carried out by accredited certification bodies.

The differences, however, matter when it comes to choosing:

  • Home market: BRCGS has stronger penetration in Anglo-Saxon markets (the UK, the US, Asia), while IFS Food is preferred by retailers in continental Europe, especially France, Germany, and Italy.
  • Scoring system: IFS Food uses a numerical scoring system that produces a compliance percentage (with Foundation, Higher, and Mandatory levels). BRCGS, by contrast, classifies non-conformities as critical, major, or minor, and a single critical non-conformity automatically means no certification.
  • Report structure: BRCGS issues a report with a grade (AA+, AA, A, B, C, D) that's visible to customers through its public directory. IFS has no equivalent public grading system.
  • Announced vs. unannounced: BRCGS allows some audits to be unannounced, which adds an extra layer of operational rigor.

Choosing between the two mainly depends on who your customers are and which markets you operate in. In many cases, companies choose to hold both certifications at once.

How to prepare for the BRCGS audit with digital evidence

Preparing for a BRCGS food safety audit with paper folders is no longer the only option — or the most efficient one. More and more quality managers are turning to digitized records and evidence to cut preparation time, minimize errors, and have everything ready the moment the auditor asks for it.

Here are the key steps for effective digital preparation:

  • Centralize all documentation in one system. Procedures, instructions, cleaning records, analytical results, HACCP team meeting minutes… everything should be accessible from a single point, properly versioned, with full traceability of changes.
  • Automate control records. Temperature, weight, visual check, and metal-detector verification records should be captured automatically or semi-automatically. This eliminates transcription errors and ensures no record ever goes unfilled.
  • Manage non-conformities in real time. A digital system lets you open, assign, and close non-conformities and their corrective actions immediately. The auditor can see the full history of issues and how they were resolved, which creates a very positive impression of the system's maturity.
  • Simulate the auditor's walkthrough before the visit. With digitized documents, you can run an internal review that mirrors what the auditor will do: locate the record for a specific check, verify that the current procedure matches the version in use, or confirm that crisis simulation records are properly filed.
  • Make batch traceability easy. The BRCGS standard requires demonstrating full traceability within a maximum time limit. With integrated digital records, this exercise can be completed in minutes instead of hours.

Tools like Solved let you manage the entire quality cycle from a single platform: documentation, records, non-conformities, internal audits, and traceability. The result is a system that's audit-ready not just on the day of the visit, but continuously throughout the year.

Getting and keeping the BRCGS certification isn't just about regulatory compliance — it's a clear signal to the market that your company manages food safety with rigor, discipline, and real evidence. And in an increasingly demanding environment, that's what makes the difference.

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