FAQs

Answers to general questions regarding how BRC certification works can be found here. Specific questions relating to the clauses and protocol of the Global Standard for Consumer Products Issue 2a are detailed below.

What is the Product Group?

Product groups are defined based on the level of risk the products potentially pose to the final consumer.  The group selected affects the detail of the requirements in the Standard and defines which of the clauses are applicable. 

Product group 1 is for high risk products and so the Standard contains more requirements for this group.  These are largely concerned with ensuring hygienic production.  The correct product group should be by the site. A Product Group Decision Tree has been developed to help in establishing the product group as well as an explanation sheet and worked examples that may be downloaded  here.

Note that sites are expected to have audits to the correct product group as determined by the decision tree.  They are at liberty to have audits to a higher level if they choose to do so but auditing to a lower level (e.g.a group 3 audit for a group 1 factory) is not allowed.

What are the Categories?

Consumer products covers a large range of goods and the Standard identifies 21 specific categories divided by product technology and material type.  Auditors are trained and required to demonstrate knowledge and experience of the particular technologies in order to be registered on the BRC Directory and approved to carry out audits in the category.

• Textiles & textile products

• Leather, leather products, footwear

• Wood, wooden products, cork, straw

• Paper & paper products

• Printing & recorded media

• Coke, charcoal, refined petroleum products

• Chemicals & chemical products

• Pharmaceuticals

• Rubber & plastic products

• Glass, clay, ceramic & porcelain products

• Concrete, cement, lime, plaster

• Metal products excluding machinery

• Machinery & equipment

• Computer, electronic, communications & optical

• Electrical equipment, batteries

• Transport equipment, cycles, boats

• Furniture

• Games & toys 

• Jewellery and accessories

• Medical devices

• Other

How often will I need to be audited against the Standard?

The frequency of the audits depends upon the product group and the grade achieved.

An audit will be required at least annually but in some cases may comprise a shorter surveillance visit.

We already have ISO 9001 what is different about the BRC Standard?

The BRC Global Standard for Consumer Products includes many of the Quality Management systems of the ISO Standard but is extended to provide a more prescriptive framework for risk assessment, hygiene and quality control. The detailed report provides information to customers to demonstrate how the site complies with the Standard.

How long will the audit take?

The length of the audit will depend on the size and complexity of your operations. A typical audit would be expected to take 1.5 days on site with another 0.5 days to produce the detailed report. 

How quickly will I get my Report/Certificate?

At the end of the audit the auditor is expected to provide a summary of any non conformities and will usually provide a written report setting these out. Sites are then allowed 28 days (60 for an initial audit) to provide the evidence that they have completed any actions identified at the audit. A further 14 days are allowed for the Certification Body to review the information, complete the report and make a certification decision. In all a time of 42 (74) days should be allowed between the audit and issue of a certificate.

Sites that receive too many non conformities to be eligible for certification (see appendix 4 of the Standard for details) will enter the 'Continual Development' phase and their report will be uploaded within 14 days after their audit

I have had a BRC audit and am not happy with the non-conformities identified – what can I do?

The company has the right to appeal the certification decision made by the certification body which should be made in writing to the Certification Body within 7 days of the decision. The Certification Body shall give a full written response within 30 days following a full and thorough investigation. The company also has the option to contact the BRC if resolution cannot be attained by the two parties.

What training is required for internal auditors and what does ‘independent of the area of operation being assessed. Auditors shall not audit their own work’ mean in clause 3.4.2?

Internal auditors should be able to show via training records that they have received formal training either via attendance of an external course or via training within the company. Training should cover the planning and scheduling of internal audits, preparing reports and follow up of audit findings. The objective behind the requirement for auditors to be independent of the activity being audited is to ensure that the audit is rigorous and thorough and is not influenced by the work which may need to be carried out to effect corrections and improvements. Auditors should not be biased or influenced. External auditors may need to be used where there are insufficient internal resources.