BRCGS Start! An effective stepping stone to achieving full BRCGS Food Safety Certification
Recognising and encouraging the development of food safety systems in small sites where food safety management systems are immature.
What is BRCGS Start!
BRCGS Start! is available for food manufacturing category; it is the tool designed by BRCGS, aligned with HACCP according to Codex Alimentarius and GFSI Global Market, to provide the necessary flexibility to approach the food safety system development at basic and intermediate levels before full certification. The company can start at any level within the program, and then choose to proceed to any level depending on their needs and the needs of their clients.
Benefits of becoming certified
Food safety is a key requirement in all the steps of the food supply chain, globally based on HACCP according to Codex Alimentarius and ensured throughout the industry by certification schemes established in the framework of the GFSI program. To be certified according one of the GFSI standard is often a pre-requirement to any business relationship along the food supply chain.
The journey towards food safety system certification can be long and complex, sometimes too long – especially for small and medium companies strongly depending on factors such as the country’s economic framework and the food safety awareness level.
That’s why the GFSI program includes an “entry point”, named GFSI Global Market, supporting the companies willing to improve their food safety system by providing the framework for both capacity building and demonstration to any stakeholder of the commitment to improvement and the actual level of implementation of the company’s food safety system, although not yet fully certified.
The certificate released by DNV at the end of the certification process according to BRC GS Start!, including correction and corrective actions when needed, will be the evidence of the result achieved and, over the years, of the improvement implemented toward full certification.
How does it work
The BRCGS Start! requirements consist of 2 different levels; a self-assessment tool is available from the BRCGS website, and the completion of the self-assessment, including the addressing of any gap, is the first step to select the desired level. There is no mandatory starting point nor mandatory progress to intermediate or to full certification.
When ready, the company can agree on the assessment level and date with DNV, who will appoint a competent auditor who will in turn provide the company with a detailed audit plan.
Our offering
DNV is an independent third-party certification body for the BRCGS START! Programme and recognised by BRCGS. We can support the capacity building process through both relevant BRCGS approved training programs, on-site pre-assessment, and added value food safety system audits.
