Food Safety and Storage & Distribution Certification

What is this programme?

BRCGS is the Certification Programme Owner: it sets the standard and the audit requirements for its standards, including BRCGS Food Safety and BRCGS Storage & Distribution. The scheme owner, BRC Trading Ltd, is part of LGC Group and is registered with UK Companies House under number 04281617. BRCGS holds full GFSI recognition.

Who is it for?

Food manufacturers, packers, and businesses that store or distribute food, where a retailer or buyer names BRCGS specifically.

Who issues the certificate?

The certificate is issued by a certification body after a third-party audit. That body must be accredited to ISO/IEC 17065 by a national accreditation body that is an IAF member — BRCGS itself does not issue certificates.

What to verify before you accept it

Check the certification body's ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation for the specific BRCGS standard requested (Food Safety or Storage & Distribution), and confirm that accreditation was granted by an IAF member national accreditation body.

What triggers an assessment?

• A retailer or buyer names BRCGS specifically.
• GFSI-recognised certification is required somewhere in the food supply chain.
• The business stores or distributes food and needs the Storage & Distribution standard rather than Food Safety.

What does it not replace?

• It is not the same scheme as FSSC 22000, IFS or SQF; a buyer's requirement specifies exactly one.
• BRCGS itself does not issue the certificate — only its accredited certification bodies do.