How do you ensure food safety across the wholesale supply chain? By standardizing the processes of each link.
Which is exactly what the BRCGS Global Standard for Agents and Brokers has done.
While standards such as ISO, FSSC, and SQF have brought valuable standardization to manufacturing, packaging, and distribution, the relatively new BRCGS Global Standard for Agents and Brokers is helping to introduce a new level of food safety to the final link of the supply chain.
Why is a food safety standard aimed at agents and brokers necessary?
The BRCGS Global Standard for Agents and Brokers was developed to address the increasing concerns around food safety and food fraud in the supply chain.
The BRCGS Global Standard for Agents and Brokers was created to provide a framework for managing product safety, quality, and legality for non-manufacturing businesses that play an essential role in the movement and trade of products.
To introduce increased harmony to the industry, agents, and brokers have to form part of the transparent model.
By implementing the BRCGS Global Standard for Agents and Brokers, companies demonstrate their commitment to food safety and transparency, which can lead to improved consumer trust and a stronger reputation. This standard also provides a framework for companies to identify and manage potential risks in the supply chain, which can help prevent food safety issues from occurring.
As the standard continues to adapt to industry requirements, BRCGS continues to provide a reliable standard for agents and brokers.
So how does bringing importers and wholesale brokers into the fray actually increase safety in the supply chain?
How does BRCGS Global Standard for Agents and Brokers increase food safety in supply chains?
While the main objective of the BRCGS is food safety, their benchmarks go far beyond quality assurance, digging into the foundation of how a company works. It explores and standardizes every facet of the company, focusing on these four main areas:
- Senior management commitment and continual improvement
- Hazard and risk management
- Product safety and quality management
- Supplier and subcontracted service management
The aim of the standard is to prevent the risks that occur in ingredient sourcing instead of finding cures after the fact.
However, with the traceability and transparency introduced through the benchmark, recalls do become a far more efficient affair, ensuring consumers are protected far more comprehensively when risks are unearthed.
Why is GFSI recognition so important when it comes to food safety benchmarks?
The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) has helped to set the benchmark for global food safety. And being a GFSI-recognized standard, the BRCGS Global Standard for Agents and Brokers carries more than a fair bit of industry clout.
As one of the latest additions to the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) family, the BRCGS Global Standard Agents and Brokers effectively closes the loop of supply chain quality assurance. As importers are the last link in the supply chain before the product reaches the buyer, it’s easy to write off their responsibility. But with considerations such as warehousing to take into account when working with bulk products and wholesale purchases, it’s a vital link in the chain.
GFSI recognition provides an independent and globally accepted validation of assurance. As a result, carrying the BRCGS certification also brings with it affiliation with an organization that is committed to revolutionizing the food industry, and not only making money from it.
Because food safety is just the start. A better future is the goal. The transparency that GFSI-recognized certification brings is helping players across the ingredient supply chain identify and address gaps in quality, helping everyone from manufacturers to importers build a more sustainable industry.
The next step in a journey to a safer food industry
The BRCGS Global Standard for Agents and Brokers provides a critical tool for ensuring food safety across the whole of the ingredient supply chain, from local orders to bulk imports.
That’s why Source86 is proud to be in the process of our own BRCGS certification, aligning our internal processes and structures to the benchmark of industry standards.
But then, it was inevitable. As a supplier that does things differently, this is simply the next step in a journey that is already aligned with the values and goals of the GFSI and BRCGS: the creation of a safer and more sustainable food industry built on transparency and reliable support. Curious to know more about our certification journey and how it impacts our products and services? Reach out to us for a deeper dive into our commitment. And while you’re at it, take a stroll through our product list to see the diverse range of ingredients we offer, all backed by the highest standards.
