SGS accredited for BRC Agents and Brokers Standard

Inspection, verification, testing and certification company SGS is now an accredited certification body for the BRC Agents and Brokers Standard.

Published in 2014, the BRC Agents and Brokers Standard is the final link that will allow all parts of the food chain — from farm gate to consumer — to be certificated against a globally recognised standard.

Agents and brokers enable small and large businesses to cost-effectively source ingredients and packaging materials in a complex global market. They do not manufacture, store or distribute products themselves but facilitate this through the use of third parties. The end user will therefore have limited knowledge of the movement of the goods they are purchasing, traceability through the chain or even the original source.

Past experiences — such as chilli powder contaminated with Sudan I and issues with horsemeat — demonstrate how important it is to have knowledge and control of the entire supply chain.

The BRC Agents and Brokers Standard helps address these issues. It also provides a framework for a quality management system strongly focused around hazard and risk assessment of operations, traceability and transparency of the movements of goods.

Effective implementation of the standard will not only confirm commitment to sourcing and supplying safe and legal products, it will also demonstrate due diligence.

The scope of the standard is for agents, brokers and importers and exporters of food, pet food and packaging materials. It is not applicable to consumer products or livestock and focuses on safety, quality and legality.