The Global Standard Food Safety has been developed to specify the safety, quality and operational criteria required to be in place within a food manufacturing organisation to fulfil obligations with regard to legal compliance and protection of the consumer. The format and content of the Global Standard is designed to allow an assessment of a company’s premises, operational systems and procedures by a competent third party – the certification body – against the requirements of the Standard.

The Global Standard Food Safety now has more than 20,000 certificated sites in over 130 countries globally.

Issue 8, published in August 2018, and the requirements continue to evolve from previous issues, with a strong emphasis on management commitment, a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP)-based food safety programme and supporting quality management system.

In this issue, there is also further development of food defence and prevention of food fraud, with expansion of requirement for environmental monitoring of micro-organisms in production facilities.

The continuing objective has been to direct the focus of the audit towards the implementation of good manufacturing practices within the production areas with additional emphasis on areas which have traditionally resulted in recalls and withdrawals (e.g. label and packing management).

Use of BRCGS intellectual property

Information on how you can use BRCGS Standards, guidance and published content can be found here. You can also find a list of answers to common question on how BRCGS content can be used here.