✓The key to retail shelves
It is a named requirement for most UK retailers and is asked for by buyers in many other markets.
From gap assessment to certification audit
Get your site ready for BRCGS Food Safety Issue 9 with a roadmap your team can execute.
A practical route for food manufacturers to reach the grade their buyers require, from the fundamental clauses through to the graded certification audit.
✓Built around scheme requirements
✓Audit-focused
✓Designed for manufacturers
Certification readiness
Build evidence before the auditor arrives.
A certification system works best when it is implemented and tested well before the external audit, rather than assembled in the weeks before audit day.
AA+
- highest achievable grade
12 mo
certificate validity
12
fundamental clauses
1 in 3
audits unannounced
Why BRCGS Food Safety
Why food manufacturerschoose BRCGS Food Safety
The BRCGS Global Standard for Food Safety is one of the most widely recognised food safety certifications. Below are three reasons manufacturers choose it.
✓Proves your maturity
The grade, from AA down to D, shows buyers how strong your system is and sets you apart from suppliers who only just pass.
✓Clear requirements
The standard is prescriptive, so your team knows exactly what is expected of each clause.
What Issue 9 focuses on: BRCGS Issue 9 places particular emphasis on food safety culture, HACCP, product authenticity and traceability. Achieving and maintaining certification gives buyers verifiable evidence that your food is safe, legal and authentic.
Implementation roadmap
A phased route toBRCGS Issue 9 readiness.
The work is sequenced so that the fundamental clauses, HACCP, site standards and product and process controls are all in place before the graded certification audit.
1Define scope & confirm target grade
Confirm the legal entity, site boundaries, products and processes, along with the minimum grade your buyers require, since that determines how much risk you can tolerate in the audit.
2Run a clause-by-clause gap assessment
Assess your system against all of Issue 9, prioritising the 12 fundamental clauses where a single major non-conformity prevents certification regardless of overall score.
3Strengthen senior management & food safety culture
Establish senior management commitment, measurable objectives, resources and a food safety culture plan, with management review covering performance data, complaints, findings and culture indicators.
4Build & validate the HACCP plan
Develop a HACCP plan aligned to Codex principles, with validated control measures, monitoring, corrective actions and verification across all products and processes.
5Implement site standards & prerequisite programmes
Bring layout and product flow, housekeeping and hygiene, maintenance, pest control, cleaning and site standards into everyday operation.
6Close product & process controls
Address allergen management, product authenticity and fraud, traceability, foreign body controls, labelling and pack control, and supplier approval and monitoring.
7Build competence, culture & operational discipline
Train by role, verify competence, and make food safety culture visible in day-to-day operational decisions on the floor.
8Verify system effectiveness
Complete documented internal audits across every clause (a fundamental requirement), traceability and recall exercises, monitoring reviews and corrective-action effectiveness checks.
9Management review & mock audit readiness
Confirm the system is mature enough to withstand a graded audit and that documentation, implementation and site conditions all hold up under scrutiny.
10Graded certification audit & maintenance
Pass the certification audit, close any non-conformities within the required window, and maintain the system year-round, booking recertification before the certificate expires.
Important: A major non-conformity against any of the 12 fundamental clauses results in non-certification, regardless of overall score. Certificates are valid for 12 months, at least 1 in every 3 audits must be unannounced, and the most common Major non-conformity is failing to schedule recertification on time.
Critical focus
The fundamental clauses decide your certification, so prioritise them.
Senior management commitment
HACCP food safety plan
Internal audits
Supplier & raw material approval
Corrective & preventive action
Traceability
Layout & product flow
Housekeeping & hygiene
Allergen management
Food safety culture
Scheme reference points
The requirementsbehind each step
✓The Standard: Issue 9
BRCGS Global Standard for Food Safety Issue 9 has applied to audits since February 2023 and remains the current standard until Issue 10 is published and its transition ends.
✓Fundamental clauses
A set of clauses where a single major non-conformity results in non-certification regardless of overall performance, these must be prioritised.
✓Grading
Audits are graded from AA (highest) to D, with a "+" for unannounced audits. Grade is determined by the number and severity of non-conformities.
✓Clause 3.4, Internal audits
Documented internal audits covering every clause are a fundamental requirement. The Site Self-Assessment Tool does not count as an internal audit.
✓Food safety culture
Issue 9 places strong emphasis on a defined, measured and reviewed food safety culture plan.
✓Audit frequency
Certificates are valid 12 months; at least 1 in every 3 audits must be unannounced. Sites graded C or D move to a 6-month cycle.
✓Recertification
The most common Major non-conformity across BRCGS is failing to schedule the recertification audit before the certificate expires.
✓Upcoming, Issue 10
BRCGS has opened consultation on Issue 10. Until it is published and a transition period ends, Issue 9 is the version you will be audited against.
Get started with AuditQ
Talk to an expert about your certification.
See exactly where your site stands against the standard and get a prioritised plan of what to close before your audit.
AQTalk to an expert30 min call, no strings attached✓Clause-by-clause Issue 9 gap assessment
✓Fundamental-clause priority mapping
✓HACCP validation and verification
✓Allergen, authenticity and traceability review
✓Internal audit across every clause
✓Mock audit and management review preparation
