The BRC Global Standard for Food Safety: A Guide to a Successful Audit

The British Retail Consortium Global Standard for Food Safety was originally conceived to meet an increasing demand for a unified standard to be used by the major retailers in the UK for their suppliers of "own label" food products. The system has proved so successful that it is now used throughout the food industry, and over 7000 food manufacturers worldwide already have the Standard. Companies are often unsure about how to approach attaining certification—often a demanding process, especially at the first attempt. Not only are there over 300 clauses to satisfy, there are also general concerns such as how to correct non-conformities within very specific deadlines. Even when their operations are actually quite satisfactory, many suppliers find themselves poorly prepared for the audit and do not perform as well as they might.