BRC is a commercial organization representing the UK retail trade. The members of this organization are large in size from large shopping centers to small kiosks. BRC is directly involved in a wide range of issues affecting retailing and the consumer, and lobbying in the UK and the European Union to bring these issues to the fore.
The British Retail Consortium Standard is a standard established by British retailers. At the end of a two-year study, October was published in 1998 under the name BRC-Global Standard-Food as a standard with the requirements for food, consumer products and packaging materials.
Retailer Brands constitute 38 of the British retail food market. Although these products are not inferior to branded products in terms of quality, they can be attractive to consumers in terms of price. At the same time, considering that 60% of food sales are made by 5 major retailers, it can be understood how aggressively these companies compete in terms of quality, price and innovation. As a result, the UK purchases large amounts of products and inputs from abroad and requires the implementation of BRC Technical Standards, Quality Management Systems and other specific requirements to ensure product safety.
Development of BRC;
- 1998-BRC Standard released as audit standard
- 1999- EN 45004 approved first Audit Bodies accredited
- 2000- 2. version Released slightly in June
- The first step on Global Food Safety was taken by 2000-CIES (The Global Food Business Forum) and compared to the BRC Standard, IFS Standard and HACCP Standard GFSI Global Food Safety Initiative
- 2002- 3. version BRC standard entered into force for certification
- 2003-BRC accepts GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) as an approved standard
Prior to the publication of the BRC Global Standards, packaging materials manufacturers and suppliers tried to meet the requirements of applicable regulations by conducting hygiene inspections at the facilities. Likewise, many retailers and food manufacturers inspected these establishments and confirmed that the procedures there meet their requirements. However, all these studies were independent of each other. In 2001, BRC and IoP jointly issued a technical standard to produce a document to support the legal requirements of both food manufacturers and retailers. This standard provides for facilities that provide packaging for food products.
A common evaluation process was defined and thus, consumer protection was ensured. It is obvious that the packaging industry has very different applications in terms of materials, processes and technologies used. As a professional representative of the industry, BRC has ensured that the requirements of this standard are practically applicable in the industry. BRC has developed an ideal application package that is accepted both in production and trade in advanced countries all over the world and it is spreading more and more every day.
