BRC and IFS certifications for Branded Products for the Retail Trade

It has now become a prerequisite for the suppliers of Large Scale Retail branded products to be certified against food safety standards or regulations (such as BRC, IFS or ISO 22000), in order to ensure safe products, compliant with legislation and compliant to defined purchase specifications.

Increasingly, the requests for these certifications also extend to suppliers of non-branded products, as they are synonymous with the manufacturer's reliability and seriousness.

BRC Global standard for food safety and IFS International food standard

These certifications are necessary to export to some European countries but, nowadays, they have also become indispensable for accessing the Italian retailer market. These standards, developed and supported by large retailers, are applicable to food production / processing companies, after the primary phase, and define a series of requirements aimed at the correct management of hygiene aspects in all phases of the management, production and distribution processes, of the food processing industry.

The main elements of the standards include:

  • Application of GMPs
  • Adoption of a HACCP system
  • Implementation of a documented Quality System
  • Product and process control
  • Existence of specifications for raw materials, finished product, packaging materials, etc.

BRC and IFS are standards recognized by the GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative), an international initiative that aims to promote food safety along the entire supply chain.

 Tool to enhance the agri-food and forestry sectors, increasing market confidence... Tool to certify the capability of an organization to gain and maintain steadily, service standard declared to the public... Formal act of a third-party body that certify the conformity of the product technical reference documents, marketing deed to enhance and diversify the product... For years the training offered by IMQ group represented a point of reference for professional development and the update of freelance and employees. Second and third-party, inspections and testing: expert auditors capable to understand the situation of the company...