This article will outline what the BRCGS grading system is, explain what each of the grades mean and discuss how to achieve them.<\/p>\n\n\n
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What is the BRCGS Grading System?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The BRCGS grading system is used throughout the whole supply chain, to reflect the food hygiene practices of each food business operator. The higher the score, the more likely a company will want to use you as a supplier, and a lower score may lose you business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The BRCGS Standards are thorough and scrutinise every possible area where food safety could be compromised. The standards are GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) <\/a>recognised and certified. The GFSI is a global scheme to benchmark food safety standards. If your business is already following a set of standards then transitioning to the BRCGS standards will be easier. However, this standard is more in depth than, for example, the SALSA Standards<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The BRCGS create and implement standards throughout the supply chain for the sectors:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The main, full set of Standards can be accessed for free as a PDF download. However, additional documents such as The Interpretation Guidelines and Key Changes Document will need to be purchased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A third-party certification body organisation, approved by the BRCGS will carry out the audit. A list of organisations can be found on The BRCGS Directory<\/a>. A BRCGS audit is an assessment of a food manufacturer\u2019s adherence to the BRCGS \u2018Global Standard\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Standard that you choose and the one best suited to you will depend on your food business. Additional voluntary modules<\/a> can be added to your audit to reduce the number of audits a food business operator needs to have for certification. For example, a gluten-free additional module. Additional modules are graded with a pass or a fail. Non-conformances of additional modules are not included in the grading of the \u2018Global Standard\u2019 assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n BRCGS audits are graded on the number and type of non-conformances. Non-conformances can be either minor<\/strong>, major <\/strong>or critical<\/strong>, defined in Issue 8 of the BRCGS Global Standards for Food Safety, section 2.3.1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A minor <\/strong>non-conformance is a small deviation from requirements or where a clause has not been fully met.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A major <\/strong>non-conformance raises significant doubt as to the conformity of the product being supplied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A critical <\/strong>non-conformance is a direct food safety or legal issue.<\/p>\n\n\n The grading scale for BRCGS audits goes from AA as the highest to Uncertified in the order: AA, A, B, C, D, Uncertified. An unannounced audit will have a \u2018+\u2019 after the grade, for example, AA+.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Companies who choose to participate in the unannounced BRCGS audit are electing to be challenged at a higher level, and show confidence in their day-to-day food safety culture and procedures. An unannounced audit means that the auditor may arrive at your facilities at any time after a certain date, so you must be ready at all times. Often, food manufacturers start with an announced audit before going onto an unannounced audit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The number and types of non-conformances will objectively determine the grading. The criteria for each grade are as followed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The frequency of your next audit will then depend on the result you achieve. Non-conformances identified in the audit report are required to be addressed and corrected within 28 days of the audit.<\/p>\n\n\n Some manufacturers worry that an unannounced audit will achieve a lower grade than an announced audit. If a manufacturer has a strong food safety culture<\/a>, good manufacturing practices (GMP) and an internal audit system in place, the food business operator should be confident in being audited on any given day.<\/p>\n\n\n Take a look at our course library where you can find Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)<\/a>, HACCP<\/a> and TACCP<\/a> Training.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n Some manufacturers prefer an unannounced audit as it is a better reflection of their food safety practices, and will often look for suppliers who also opt for an unannounced audit. When choosing suppliers based on their BRCGS audit grade, some manufacturers may put extra weighting towards an unannounced audit grade – for example, preferring a B+ (unannounced) to an A (announced).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The minimum BRCGS grade needed will depend on which retailer a manufacturer is supplying to. Improving your BRCGS grade may open doors to more retailers which were previously closed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, a ready meal company may be able to sell their brand of ready meal in ASDA with a lower BRCGS grade. If that ready meal business then achieves an A+, they might now be eligible to sell their products in M&S, under the M&S own brand and other supermarket own brands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether you are working towards BRCGS or not, we hope you found the above information useful. Should you wish to discuss your business needs further, or would like to know more about how our training can help you, please contact our friendly, helpful sales and support teams on <\/em>0333 006 7000<\/em><\/strong> or email <\/em>sales@highspeedtraining.co.uk<\/em><\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Many manufacturers work towards, or are following BRCGS standards. We outline what the BRCGS grading system is and how to achieve the grades here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":52220,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[701],"class_list":["post-52167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-hygiene","tag-haccp"],"acf":{"schema_disabled":false,"schema_properties_FAQPage_question_answer":null,"schema_properties_HowTo_howto_tools":null,"schema_properties_HowTo_howto_supplies":null,"schema_properties_HowTo_howto_steps":null,"schema_properties_WebPage_cssSelector":null,"schema_sameAs_repeater":null,"schema_custom_json_repeater":null,"schema_custom_json_override":false},"yoast_head":"\nThe Standards<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Types of Non-conformances<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nWhat Do the BRCGS Audit Grades Mean?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nHow Do I Achieve the BRCGS Grades?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/div>\nNeed a Course?<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\n\n\n\nFurther Resources:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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