BRCGS START! Food Safety Certification
The BRCGS START! programme is designed to support small food producers (SMES) in establishing robust food safety systems. Aligned with the full Food Safety Global Standard, it offers a pathway to certification, enhancing product safety and facilitating access to major retailers.
What is BRCGS START!?
The BRCGS START! programme recognises and encourages the development of food safety systems in small sites where food safety management systems are immature. Developed in line with the full BRCGS Food Safety Global Standard, it is recognised and supported by many leading brands and retailers. It helps you build the structure, confidence, and credibility to move beyond local and HACCP-based certifications, and toward recognised certification.
Which companies benefit from BRCGS START! ?
START is a food safety development programme created specifically for aspirational, small site food businesses.
Benefits of START! certification
BRCGS START! has the full support of leading retailers around the world as it provides assurance of the food safety system your operation has established.
Key benefits include:
- Two levels of certification available - Basic and Intermediate - to suit your business size, maturity and need.
- It is a certification that can grow with your business with a clear pathway to Food Safety Issue 9 if required.
- Boosts your brand reputation and credibility by using the BRCGS logo.
- Increases your brand exposure to the right audience through your BRCGS Directory listing – a tool used by retailers for supplier selection.
About the Standard
The BRCGS START! programme gives small food producers the opportunity to demonstrate recognised stepping stones towards eventual certification to the full Food Safety Global Standard.
30% of sites certificates to START! successfully transition to the full BRCGS Food Safety standard within two years.
Take your first step to start a new future with START!
The BRCGS Get Started implementation pack is the perfect starting point. It provides all the resources and guidance needed to implement the requirements in preparation for a certification audit.
Get in touch and let us help you your journey to START! certification today.
The BRCGS START! programme recognises and encourages the development of food safety systems in small sites where food safety management systems are immature. Developed in line with the full Food Safety Global Standard, it is recognised and supported by many leading brands and retailers.
The START! programme sets out the requirements for the manufacture of processed foods and the preparation of primary products supplied as:
- Retailer-branded products
- Branded food products
- Food or ingredients for use by foodservice companies, catering and food manufacturers
The audit and certification will apply only to products that have been manufactured or prepared at the site where the audit has taken place. This will include storage facilities that are under the direct control of the production site management.
- There are two levels of certification to suit your size, maturity and need
- It is fully aligned with Food Safety Issue 9 and provides a clear roadmap to full certification
- Fully aligned with the GFSI Global Markets programme (the full Standard is GFSI-benchmarked)
- It requires completion of corrective actions on any non-conformities before certification, reducing the need for customers to follow up audit reports
- Public listing on BRCGS Directory, the tool that brands and retailers use for supplier selection
- Improve brand reputation through the use of BRCGS logos to promote your products
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