The BRC Global Food Standard

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) developed a Technical Standard in 1998 to provide a common standard for companies supplying retailer branded food products. The Standard was developed by UK supermarket retailers to assist them in their fulfilment of legal obligations and protection of the consumer. In March 2003 the standard was renamed the BRC Global Standard and Version 4 came into force in July 2005.

The BRC Standard is recognised by the majority of UK supermarket retailers and is being increasingly used by food manufacturers to approve suppliers and in many instances it can be a pre-condition to supply certain companies.

If your business needs to develop a quality or HACCP system which meets the BRC Standard, needs assistance in maintaining your existing BRC system or needs general help in preparing for your next assessment, Prestige can help.

Prestige can provide consultancy and technical support for the development of food safety systems that meet the requirements of the BRC Standard. Once certificated to the standard, we can provide ongoing support to maintain the systems to ensure no lapses or faults occur that could jeopardise your existing product safety and / or future BRC assessments.

Being independent of the assessment bodies auditing to the BRC Standard, Prestige can assist companies to obtain and maintain the BRC standard without potential conflicts of interest.

Our support service involves:

• An initial review of each clause of the Standard against the clients existing arrangements
• Working to develop existing quality & HACCP systems over a period of time to ensure the requirements of the Standard are being met in full
• Realistic guidance and practical advice continually given
• Challenging the systems through audits, mock recalls, staff awareness and training exercises to ensure the client is 'on the path' to achieving a successful BRC assessment
• Preparing the client for their 1st BRC assessment - advising on suitable assessment body and assistance on the day of the assessment

Following the initial review it is normally possible to gauge the likely length of time (number of visits) necessary for the client to achieve a successful BRC assessment. This could be a matter of weeks or up to 12 months. During this time, Prestige would be conducting regular (monthly) full day site visits providing the support and guidance as detailed above.

Other Standards

EFSIS Standard

- is now the same as the BRC standard - EFSIS just refers to the certification company.

EFSIS Technical Standard for the Storage and Distribution of Food Products

- used by wholesalers and distributors. Prestige have successfully achieved this Standard for a client in the West Midlands.

International Food Standard (IFS Standard)

- devised in Germany and is the equivalent of the BRC Standard.

Our support service covers all of the above Standards.

For more information please contact Prestige on 0151 222 6935, email us, or use the Mail Form in the Contact Us section.