No TÜV SÜD Certification Mark
Certification:
Product certification in the meaning of the accreditation including management-system components / Voluntary assessment
Basis for Certification (certification standard):
BRC AGENTS & BROKERS Standard in the currently valid version
Standard Owner:
BRC Trading Ltd.
No TÜV SÜD certification mark will be issued. Certified organisations will be authorised to use the BRC certification mark according to the rules defined by the standard owner.
What does the standard BRC AGENTS & BROKERS cover?
The standard BRC AGENTS & BROKERS defines the requirements for an organisation's food safety processes. These requirements include, but are not limited to:
- Implementation of a quality and food safety management system
Planning, implementation, assessment, actions
Hazard assessments including control elements - Resource management skills
Human resources, facilities and equipment, training - Intensive planning and supplier evaluation process
Suitability of packaging materials
Product specifications
Correct product labelling (allergens, correctness, scope) - Measurements, analyses, improvements
Procedures for hazardous situations, supplier evaluation
What does “certification” according to BRC AGENTS & BROKERS by TÜV SÜD Management Service GmbH mean?
- The customer has submitted to voluntary assessment (audit) according to defined criteria
(certification standard). - A certificate and/or the authorisation to use a certification mark is only issued if the assessment (audit) does not reveal any major nonconformities with the requirements of the certification standard.
- Certificates and/or certification marks are valid for a restricted period of time. Interested parties can check the validity of individual certificates in the certificate databaseof TÜV SÜD Management Service GmbH or the standard owner (www.brcdirectory.com).
- To maintain certificate validity, the certificate holder must annually complete an announced audit with a positive result.
- Unannounced audits may be conducted in specific cases or at the request of the certified company.
- According to the standard owner’s requirements, communication of BRC AGENTS & BROKERS certification is restricted to B2B communication. Communication to consumers is not permitted.
How do we audit?
Independent and qualified experts (auditors) will apply the following auditing techniques:
- Document review
Review of documentation such as documented procedures, work instructions
Inspection of recipes and specifications
Evaluation of food labelling
Specific traceability tests
Evaluation of analysis results
- On-site audit
Interviews with the employees of the organization
e.g. department specific tasks such as Purchasing and Quality Management
What is beyond the scope of certification according to the standard BRC AGENTS & BROKERS?
Audits are always based on sampling. Given this, it is not possible to inspect every single product or every single production process. TÜV SÜD certification thus cannot give a 100% guarantee that all food products of a certified company are free from nonconformities, or that the organisation meets the criteria of the standard at all times even though this is one of the key objectives of the standard BRC AGENTS & BROKERS.
