BRC / IFS

European retail chains and also international food retailing groups demand unified quality standards from their suppliers. The British Retail Consortium Standard (BRC) and International Food Standard (IFS) have defined requirements which can be applied to every type and size of food producer.

The IFS standard is recognized by many European retailers and is now required from suppliers of private label goods. The British Retail Consortium developed the Global Food Standard as an international food standard. It is intended for private label manufacturers and is of particular interest for companies who wish to export to Great Britain. According to GFSI benchmarking, BRC (BRC Global Standard for Food Safety Issue 6) and IFS (IFS Food Version 6) recognized by GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative).

BRC and IFS point the way ahead in this area – in particular for private label manufacturers – and have clear common objectives:

• Ensuring unified product safety for all suppliers in the chain
• Management of risks
• Increasing customer satisfaction
• Fulfilment of relevant legal requirements (food law)
• Consumer protection

TÜV NORD offers a combination of different certifications, taking the BRC and IFS standards into consideration. This combination includes inspection of the HACCP, the QM system, the GMP, the security of the site and also the management of all business and company processes. Altogether, certification according to the BRC and IFS goes above and beyond what is expected by legal and procedural EU requirements. In combination with ISO 9001, ISO 22000 and ISO 14001, these certifications are extended to form a complex management system.

Suppliers of food retailers who can demonstrate certification according to the requirements of BRC and IFS benefit from decisive advantages:

• Assurance of a unified quality level
• Reduction of risks and warranty claims
• Contribution to improvement of food safety
• Documentation of a stronger sense of responsibility
• Improvement of image both inside the company and towards the outside

TÜV NORD stands for integrity, independence and internationally recognized competence. We have comprehensive know-how in the area of risk-based certifications. All the elements which are needed for successful certification are available from us as a one-stop service. This means that TÜV NORD not only offers you a wide range of services, but also a useful advantage as regards experience in the extensive area of food safety. As a service provider for the food industry, we support you in all aspects of certification in the food and packaging industry – from A to Z.

Our expert food industry auditors are specialists and are all approved for the BRC and IFS standard. They identify strengths and weaknesses within your organization, discover potentials for improvement and structure all the tasks in the most efficient way possible. This means that we can accompany you securely and reliably along the fastest route to successful certification. Certification by TÜV NORD according to BRC and IFS standards makes an important contribution to better food safety and therefore also in the end to sustainable business success.