New Version 9 of the BRCGS Food Safety Standard 

On August 1, 2022, BRCGS Food Safety launched its long-awaited version 9 of the standard. In this new edition, significant changes were made compared to version 8, and the latest legislative changes as well as benchmarking criteria were taken into account. 

To ensure that the new version was complete and up to date, BRCGS undertook an extensive process that began in May 2021. During this process, the most current trends and industry-specific needs were incorporated, ensuring that the BRCGS Food Safety Standard, version 9, would be a benchmark for food safety and quality. 

BRCGS version 9 brings with it an outstanding novelty in the area of audits. In this new version, BRCGS values the importance of taking advantage of all the possibilities and flexibility offered by Information and Communication Technologies to carry out audits. This is a step forward in the efficiency and quality of food safety assessments. As of February 1, 2023, the available options have been expanded to three: 

• Announced Audit Program (with unannounced audits every 3 years): in this approach, the date of the announced audit is agreed in advance, as had been the practice. However, for unannounced audits, the client will only receive information about the year in which the audit will take place, but the specific date will not be disclosed. The client will be aware that during that year, the certification body will conduct an unannounced audit, but without knowing the exact day. 
• Combined Announced Audit Program (with mandatory unannounced audit every 3 years): This approach is totally new and takes advantage of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to split the announced audits into two phases. The first phase of the audit could be conducted remotely, while the second phase would be conducted physically at the customer’s site, focusing on production or storage areas. 
• Unannounced Audit Program: This modality remains very similar to the previous version (8) and is still voluntary. By opting for this option, the client can obtain commercial benefits by achieving the highest BRCGS rating: AA+. In version 9, it is allowed to perform this unannounced audit also in the 4 months prior to the expiration of the certification. However, the client has the possibility to request that this unannounced audit NOT be carried out up to 10 days before the scheduled date. 

As of February 1, 2023, audits will be conducted under the new version of the standard. Certificates issued prior to that date, during audits conducted under version 8, will remain valid for the period specified on the certificate. However, all audits occurring on or after February 1, 2023 will be governed by the most recent version.