BRC IOP

The BRC (British Retail Consortium) Global Standards are specification developed by British Retail Consortium in response to the needs of UK members of the consortium. The BRC Global Standards are used by suppliers and global retailers. BRC standards specify requirements for standardization of quality, safety, operational criteria and manufacturers’ fulfillment of legal obligations. They also help provide protection to the consumer.

The BRC standard is recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), which aims to harmonize international food safety standards with the help of the world’s top retailers and food manufacturers. The BRC Global Standards are a group of four industry-leading Technical Standards that specify requirements to be met by an organization to enable the production, packaging, storage and distribution of safe food and consumer products.

Scope And Application:

BRC-IOP certification—the Standard is applicable to the manufacturer of packaging and packaging materials used in food packaging and filling operations and to packaging and packaging materials for cosmetics, toiletries and other consumer products and materials.

The packaging industry is divided into specific product technologies such as

Glass

Paper and Board

Metals - cans and foil products

Plastics

Wood and other materials.

The Standard recognizes two levels of hygiene risk depending on the end use of the packaging materials for instance direct food contact is the highest level and will fall into the high hygiene risk category, while non-food packaging will fall into the low hygiene risk category. The requirements of the standard are listed separately depending upon the level.

Implementation Benefits:

There are a number of benefits arising from the BRC-IOP certification, which include:

Providing a single audit report that is recognized by many customers in place of their own audits' saving time and cost

Operating under an accreditation framework that ensures the results of certification have international credibility and recognition

A comprehensive scope, covering areas of quality, hygiene and product safety, that meets most customer requirements when assessing and approving suppliers

Providing a framework for the development of quality and hygiene management systems in companies that encourages continuous improvement, reduction in waste and increased efficiency

Addressing part of the legislative requirements of the packaging manufacturer/supplier, packer/filler and retailer; packaging manufacturers may also use this Standard to ensure their suppliers are following good manufacturing practices and are fulfilling legal requirements

Certificated sites making use of the marketing opportunities provided, through recognition on the public BRC Global Standards Directory website and use of the BRC logo.