BRC Food Hygiene and Safety
Building trust
Third-party certification to the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety provides reassurance to customers that the supplier has fulfilled their legal obligations and can be trusted with food safety.
NSAI can offer certification to the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety, which was first developed in 1998 by the
British Retail Consortium to help inspire consumer confidence in food produce sold in shops and supermarkets. Its latest version –Issue 5 - was published in January 2008.
Although it has been adopted by food manufacturers worldwide, the Standard is especially relevant for suppliers exporting food products to the UK.
Scope
BRC Global Standard for Food Safety covers:
- Branded food products
- Retailers’ own-brand products
- Processed and prepared food
- Ingredients used to manufacture and prepare food.
Benefits of registration
By registering to the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety you can achieve:
- Independent verification of your food safety regime
- Cost-effective control of food-borne hazards
- A proactive approach towards identifying and controlling food safety hazards
- Benchmarking with best practices internationally
- A stimulus for continual improvement
- Increased confidence in your products among customers
- Listing on the British Retail Consortium Directory of Certified Suppliers.
Requirements
This Standard has been continually reviewed to reflect the requirements of both retailers and their suppliers. It is not intended to replace the requirements of legislation already in place.
The Standard sets out requirements for:
- Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) implementation, which focuses on identifying and overcoming potential weaknesses in food safety
- An effective and properly documented quality management system
- Control of the factory environment, including hygiene, ventilation, waste disposal, equipment and pest control
- Product and process control, including handling, packaging, analysis and stock rotation
- Personnel control, including training, hygiene and health screening.
Registration Procedure
Registration is straightforward and involves the following steps:
- You request a quotation and an application form.
- Following acknowledgement of your application, we assign you a lead auditor.
- We review your food safety management documentation.
- When we are satisfied that this in order, we arrange an on-site inspection.
- When the on-site audit is completed, we recommend any necessary corrective actions.
- When these actions have been taken, we issue you with a Certificate of Evaluation.
- Your registration is then maintained through an ongoing process of surveillance audits.
Get registered with NSAI
NSAI is accredited to EN 45011 by the
Irish National Accreditation Board . This sets out general requirements for bodies operating product certification systems and is recognized by the British Retail Consortium.
NSAI is now in a position to provide this service cost-effectively. For further information contact: