Over the last three decades, the global food industry has become more connected, more complex and more exposed to fast-moving risks. Supply chains cross more borders, consumers expect greater transparency, and brand owners need assurance that the products they source are safe, legal, authentic and consistently high quality. In that environment, BRCGS has not simply produced a food safety standard; it has built one of the most trusted global systems for turning technical expertise, industry insight and rigorous governance into practical, auditable requirements that improve food safety worldwide.
That is what makes BRCGS best placed to lead the next era of food safety assurance. Its strength lies not only in the reach of the Global Standard Food Safety - now adopted by tens of thousands of sites across more than 130 countries and accepted by leading global brands and retailers - but in the way every issue of the standard is created, challenged, governed, implemented and continuously improved. As BRCGS looks ahead to the upcoming Food Safety Issue 10, the next evolution of the standard, the process itself is a powerful proof point: world-class standards are not written in isolation; they are built through evidence, collaboration, technical scrutiny and the collective effort of people across the global food safety community.
Why BRCGS is different
The original purpose of BRCGS was pragmatic: to create a common standard that could reduce duplication, improve consistency and give UK retailers confidence in the safety and quality of the products they sourced. Over time, that practical solution has become a global benchmark because BRCGS has remained focused on what matters most: protecting consumers, strengthening food safety practices and giving brand owners confidence in the suppliers they rely on.
BRCGS does this by combining technical rigour with real-world usability. The Food Safety standard provides a framework for manufacturing, processing and packing sites to manage product safety, legality, quality and authenticity through robust operational controls. But the standard is only one visible part of a much bigger assurance ecosystem. Behind it sits governance, technical interpretation, auditor competence, certification body management, performance monitoring, guidance, training, benchmarking and a comprehensive certification integrity programme. This is why BRCGS certification is more than a certificate; it is a trusted signal that a site is operating within a proven, globally recognised system of assurance.
Food Safety Issue 10: proof of the process behind the standard
Food Safety Issue 10, currently in development, demonstrates why BRCGS continues to lead. The rewrite of a standard is a considered decision involving stakeholders inside and outside BRCGS, with robust processes and procedures that satisfy BRCGS governance as well as Global Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated (Global-ACI), GFSI and equivalent benchmark expectations. The objective is not to refresh content for its own sake, but to ensure the standard reflects the latest thinking, emerging risks, customer expectations, regulatory developments and best practice across the global food industry.
That work is far more complex than creating content in a document and applying a label. A new issue may involve updates to requirements, audit protocol, certification rules, auditor competence, product categories, appendices, guidance, terminology, governance processes and supporting documents. Any change has consequences for sites, auditors, certification bodies, brand owners, accreditation bodies and BRCGS systems. This is why BRCGS approaches standards development as a disciplined, multi-stage programme. One that begins as soon as a new issue is published with collation of feedback and audit data, and later moves through to formal review, consultation, drafting and approval for the next issue.
The people behind the standard
The development of Food Safety Issue 10 is a collective effort. BRCGS brings together a multi-faceted global Technical Working Group that is led by the Standard Manager and consists of representatives from industry, retailers and brand owners, accreditation bodies, academia and certification bodies. Their role is to test the standard against real-world food safety risks, review best practice, consider new technologies and legislation, assess supply chain vulnerabilities, identify gaps and ensure there are no audit blind spots.
This matters because no single person, business or market can define food safety best practice alone. The strength of BRCGS is its ability to convene deep technical expertise from across the global industry and translate that expertise into requirements that are clear enough to audit, practical enough to implement and robust enough to protect consumers. Food Safety Issue 10 is therefore not just the next publication in a sequence; it is the latest expression of a 30-year commitment to listening, learning and raising expectations in line with the needs of the industry.
Before a draft is finalised, BRCGS opens the process to wider industry comment, ensuring feedback can be reviewed and incorporated where appropriate. Once the final version is agreed, the work continues through publication, implementation planning, auditor training, certification body changeover, site training, accreditation and benchmarking. The typical six-month transition period before audits begin against a new issue gives the global network time to prepare properly. This disciplined implementation model is one of the reasons BRCGS can deliver consistency at scale.
Complexity managed with clarity
A BRCGS standard is supported by a wider system of documents, tools and training that help users understand and apply it consistently. Food Safety Issue 9 provides a useful indication of the scale involved: alongside the standard itself, BRCGS developed more than 300 pages of interpretation guidance, a key changes document, audit report templates, technical briefings, audit duration tool, auditor competence requirements, checklists, FAQs and a suite of guidance documents on topics such as allergen management, environmental monitoring, product safety culture, traceability, foreign body controls and vulnerability assessment.
This supporting infrastructure is a key part of why BRCGS is trusted. It helps turn a global standard into consistent practice across different countries, languages, product categories and site types. It also demonstrates the depth of work required to maintain a mature, widely used certification programme. Every interpretation guide, training course, exam, webinar, technical briefing and implementation resource is part of the assurance system, and each requires expert input and careful alignment with the standard.
Food Safety Issue 10 will build on this proven model turning global insight into practical requirements. Its development is an opportunity to review Issue 9, consider new technological advancements, new legislation, customer expectations and ensure the next issue continues to support the production of safe, authentic and legal food.
Trust built through certification integrity
For certification to improve food safety at global scale, it must be credible, consistent and meaningful wherever an audit takes place. BRCGS has invested in a dedicated integrity programme designed to make sure audits are delivered in a way that brand owners, retailers, certification bodies and certificated sites can trust.
That programme includes Tell BRCGS, a confidential global system for reporting audit issues; certification integrity audits that audit the auditors; Delivery Partner performance measurement; and auditor compliance based on their qualifications, training, experience and exams. Together, these elements reinforce a simple but essential principle: a BRCGS audit should be delivered to the same high standard regardless of country, certification body or auditor.
A 30-year heritage, built for the future
Over the last 30 years, BRCGS has helped raise the global benchmark for food safety by harmonising expectations, reducing duplication and strengthening audit consistency. It has also led the industry in key areas, from being the first to introduce a certification integrity programme to embedding food safety culture requirements and defining food fraud within the standard.
Food Safety Issue 10 brings that story into sharp focus. It allows BRCGS to celebrate its 30-year heritage while showing the depth of expertise, collaboration and governance that sits behind its standards. It demonstrates that BRCGS is not simply maintaining a document; it is leading and driving an ongoing global conversation about hazard sources and true emerging risk mitigation, best practice, consumer protection and the future of food safety.
As food supply chains become increasingly complex, assurance must continue to evolve. Alongside standards development, BRCGS is helping build a more connected assurance ecosystem, combining standards, training, governance and intelligence to support better risk-based decision-making across the supply chain.
How BRCGS sets the benchmark for global food safety
BRCGS has grown to become the leading global food safety certification programme because it combines reach with rigour, technical expertise with practical application, and independent certification with continuous oversight. BRCGS standards are developed through a level of collective effort that reflects the complexity of the global food industry and the responsibility that comes with protecting consumers.
As Food Safety Issue 10 progresses towards publication, it offers a compelling proof point for that leadership. It shows how BRCGS listens to stakeholders, reviews evidence, convenes global expertise, manages governance, supports implementation and protects the integrity of certification. After 30 years of helping make food safer, BRCGS is not standing still. It is using the same disciplined, collaborative approach that made its food safety standard a global benchmark to shape the next generation of consumer protection.
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Mike Wilson Managing Director |