BRCGS Food Safety · Retail chains
BRCGS — the standard British and European retailers ask for
Alongside IFS, BRCGS is the standard retail chains most often set as a listing requirement. It is graded rather than pass/fail, and your customer can see the grade.
What is BRCGS?
BRCGS is a GFSI-recognised scheme, close to IFS in purpose: both grew out of retail chains' requirements for their private-label suppliers. The difference is mostly geographic habit — BRCGS is asked for mainly by British retailers, IFS by German and French ones. If you export to both groups, it is not unusual to be asked for both.
Unlike ISO standards, the result is not simply "certified" — you receive a grade that depends on the number and severity of non-conformities, and the grade determines when the next audit takes place. Part of the audit may be unannounced. That is why preparation is not only about documents but also about the condition of the site: everything an auditor would see on an unannounced visit has to be in place all the time, not just on audit day.
When is BRCGS required?
When you supply British retail chains or export to the UK market, especially for goods under the customer's private label. It is also required from packaging manufacturers and storage and distribution companies, through the relevant standard of the scheme.
If you already have HACCP and well-run prerequisite programmes, most of the foundation is in place — the difference is that BRCGS also asks for evidence of food safety culture, raw material authenticity and protection against deliberate contamination.
Road to certification
The process is similar to other schemes, but it ends with a grade that is visible outside your company:
Who issues the certificate
The audit is carried out by a certification body approved by the scheme owner. The result is not just "you passed" but a grade, which depends on the number and severity of non-conformities and on whether you chose an announced or unannounced audit. The certificate and grade are published in the scheme's directory, so the customer sees them directly. Non-conformities must be closed within the set deadline — if they are not, no certificate is issued.
Scope of our support
Hygiene, maintenance, foreign body control and traceability brought up to the level the scheme requires.
A plan that matches the real process, with records an auditor can trace backwards.
Programme, measurement and evidence — the part where companies most often lose their grade.
An internal audit against the scheme's checklist before the certification body arrives.
Related standards
HACCP is the foundation, ISO 22000 and FSSC 22000 are related schemes, and IFS Food is asked for by chains in Germany, France and Italy. Which one you need is decided by your customer — not by the standard.
Industries where this standard is most often required:
Training for food production teams — scheme requirements, HACCP, food safety culture and preparing for a graded audit. Delivered at your premises, online or as a combination of both.
BRCGS — frequently asked questions
Which grade do we need?
The one your customer asks for. Most chains have a threshold below which they will not accept a supplier, so the target is set by the contract, not by what is easiest to achieve.
Announced or unannounced audit?
Unannounced makes a better impression on customers, but it requires the system to work every single day. The first time, most companies go for announced, and move to unannounced once the practice is stable.
Can we have both BRCGS and IFS?
We can implement them together — they overlap to a large extent, so there is one preparation, while the audits run separately according to customer requirements.
How much does BRCGS cost?
It depends on the size of the site, the number of production lines and the current situation. Send a short description of your production for an indicative quote.
📋 Check the exact price for your organisation →The EU, the US and other markets
BRCGS is the same standard wherever you certify it — what differs is the designation, the accreditation behind the certificate and what your customers ask for.
In the European Union the standard is adopted with an EN prefix, and what your buyer in the Netherlands, Germany or France looks at is not the prefix but the accreditation behind the certificate: a body accredited by a signatory of the international recognition arrangement (Global Accreditation Cooperation, formerly IAF) is recognised in other markets too. What EU partners and EU regulation expect is on the page about the EU market.
For companies with customers in the United States — supplier audits, security questionnaires and how ISO sits alongside SOC 2 — see the page about the US market.
Wherever your customer is, we run the project remotely in English — over Teams, WhatsApp or Viber, with documentation and records in English — and on site when that is easier.
Some of our references
More than 400 organisations in Montenegro and the region have gone through implementation with us — from banks and public bodies to manufacturing, IT, laboratories and hospitality.
These are only some of our clients. More about us →
Request a free consultation
We will assess the scope of work and propose a realistic plan and budget for your product. Call us or send an inquiry — we reply within 24 hours.