The main stages of the certification process are:
- An optional preliminary audit to assess the company’s situation with respect to the requirements of the BRC standard in order to identify, through a gap analysis, strengths and potential areas for improvement;
- Voluntary participation in the BRC registration programme for companies which do not yet satisfy the requirements of the standard, but nevertheless wish to appear on the BRC database in order to advertise to their customers their efforts to achieve certification;
- A certification audit;
- Issuance of the certificate and delivery of the audit report;
- Annual surveillance audits;
- Potential unannounced audits.
Certiquality can perform integrated audits combining the BRC standard with the main food safety standards and regulations (ISO 9001, IFS, UNI 10854, ISO 22000, FSSC 22000, GlobalG.A.P., Product certification, ISO 22005).
The BRC Standard provides for the payment of an annual fee which for Food Safety and Packaging Materials is equal to £ 575.00, fully paid to the BRC secretariat. As established by BRC, the new rate of £ 625.00 will be applied for audits carried out from 1st August 2021