Perry Johnson Registrations Food Safety Canada Company

Everybody Eats... Everybody Cares About Food Safety

BRCGS Global Standard for Food Safety: Agents and Brokers

BRCGS Agents and Brokers

What Is the BRCGS Global Standard for Agents and Brokers?

Responsibility for a product does not begin at the point of physical contact. Trading organisations that source, sell, or facilitate the movement of food and consumer goods are accountable for the safety, legality, and authenticity of those products regardless of whether they ever touch them. As supply chains grow more global and customer qualification requirements more stringent, that accountability demands a verifiable, structured response.

The BRCGS (Brand Reputation Compliance Global Standards) Global Standard for Agents and Brokers provides exactly that. It is an independently audited framework for managing supplier risk, maintaining traceability, and demonstrating supply chain accountability across trading operations that do not involve direct control over manufacturing or storage.

Who Needs BRCGS Agents and Brokers Certification?

This standard applies to non-manufacturing organisations involved in the trade of food and consumer products, including:

  • Food and consumer product importers and exporters
  • Trading companies and commodity brokers
  • Agents acting on behalf of manufacturers, brand owners, or buyers
  • Non-manufacturing businesses supplying food, ingredient, or packaging products

As global supply chains face increasing scrutiny and customer qualification requirements become more stringent, BRCGS Agents and Brokers certification provides trading organisations with a credible, recognised way to demonstrate that their supply chain management practices meet a Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI)-recognised independently verified standard.

Key Requirements of the Standard

  • A formal supplier approval process that includes initial assessment against defined criteria, documented approval decisions, and ongoing monitoring of supplier performance
  • Product risk assessments conducted by category that identify potential food safety, legal, and authenticity risks, with documented due diligence procedures proportionate to those risks
  • Traceability systems that can track any product from its point of origin through the supply chain to the end customer, with records sufficient to support a recall or withdrawal
  • Procedures for verifying product authenticity and integrity, confirming labelling accuracy, and ensuring compliance with applicable legal and customer requirements in destination markets
  • A documented customer complaint management process and a defined procedure for responding to product safety incidents, including escalation, investigation, and corrective action
  • An internal audit programme that regularly evaluates the effectiveness of the management system, with documented findings and evidence of corrective actions taken
  • Staff training and awareness programmes ensuring that all personnel involved in procurement, sales, and quality functions understand their responsibilities in relation to food safety and supply chain risk

Benefits of BRCGS Agents and Brokers Certification

  • Provides customers and retail or food service buyers with verified assurance that the products you represent are backed by rigorous supplier controls
  • Strengthens supply chain transparency and reduces exposure to product safety, authenticity, and mislabelling risks
  • Establishes your organisation as a credible, accountable trading partner and supports access to buyers where GFSI-recognised certification is a qualification requirement

Certification Through PJRFSCC

The Agents and Brokers audit is structured around the way trading organisations actually operate. Depending on your organisational model, the audit can be conducted remotely, on-site, or as a combination of both. PJRFSCC auditors focus on the substance of your supplier management and traceability systems, providing findings that are specific to how your business works rather than generic observations against a checklist.

Contact PJRFSCC at 1-855-757-7374 or request a quote to learn more.

*PJRFSCC does not provide consulting services, since doing so would be a conflict of interest. However, PJRFSCC is acquainted with several reputable food safety consulting firms and can provide a reference list upon request.

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