The BRCGS (British Retail Consortium Global Standards) are specifications developed by the British Retail Consortium in response to the needs of UK members of the consortium. The British Retail Consortium (BRCGS) is the trade association of a range of independent retailers, large multiples and department stores, selling a wide range of products. BRCGS Global Standards are used by suppliers and global retailers. BRCGS standards specify requirements for standardization of quality, safety, operational criteria, and manufacturers’ fulfillment of legal obligations. They also help provide protection to the consumer.
The BRCGS is a food safety certification and the standard is recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), which aims to harmonize international food safety standards with the help of the world’s top retailers and food manufacturers.
The BRCGS Global Standards are a group of four industry-leading Technical Standards that specify requirements to be met by an organization to enable the production, packaging, storage and distribution of safe food and consumer products. BRCGS training is required to implement the same at any organization.
The BRCGS Global Standards are a set of four Technical Standards:
The Standard was developed to help retailers to comply with legal obligations and protection of the Consumer, by providing a common basis for the audit of companies supplying retailer branded food products. Since the introduction of the UK Food Safety Act, the obligations placed upon the UK retailer have now become best practice across much of the supply chain and therefore manufacturers have accepted the principles of the Standard as a means of providing critical elements of their due diligence systems.
The BRCGS Global Standard – Food is based on the fundamental principles of the retailers’ own standards and has been continuously upgraded based on the requirements of both retailers and their suppliers.
The Standard requires:
The objective of the BRCGS Global Standard – Food is to specify safety, quality and operational criteria required to be in place within a manufacturing organization to supply food products to UK retailers, their suppliers or Standard users. The format, content, and BRCGS training of the Standard are designed to allow an assessment of a company’s premises and operational systems and procedures by a competent third party against the requirements of the Standard.
The BRCGS recognizes the importance of accreditation and has worked closely with the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) during the development of all the Technical Standards to ensure that all the requirements of product certification are met.
The principles of the BRCGS Global Standard Food are:
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