Food Safety Standard

BRC-Agents and Brokers

Overview:

The Global Standard for Agents and Brokers was first published in 2014 and was developed to provide a framework to manage product safety, quality and legality for businesses in the food and food packaging industries.

Agents and Brokers (non-manufacturing traders) who buy, sell or facilitate the trade of products, provide a critical link in the movement and trade of products, and influence supplier product safety and quality standards, as well as being responsible for maintaining an effective chain of traceability.

The Global Standard for Agents and Brokers has been developed to provide a framework for managing product safety, quality and legality for these non-manufacturing businesses in the food and packaging industries.

Global Standard for Agents and Brokers is aimed at:

Brokers: Companies that purchase or ‘take title to’ products for resale to manufacturers, other brokers, retailers or food service companies, but not directly to the consumer.
Agents or non-manufacturing service providers: Companies that trade between a manufacturer or broker and their customers, but do not own or take title to the goods.
Importers/Exporters: Companies that facilitate the movement of products across national boundaries, satisfying legal and customs requirements. Importers and exporters may also be agents and/or brokers.

Scope of Products applicable for Certification:

The Standard has a scope which covers certification for the following categories of products:

Food products, including raw materials, processed foods, and fruit and vegetables.
Packaging materials – primary, secondary and tertiary materials, and raw materials for the manufacture of packaging materials.
Pet foods for domestic animals.
Consumer products.

The Standard shall not apply to:

livestock
animal feed for livestock
bulk fuels
pharmaceuticals

Certification against the Global Standard is recognized by many retailers, food service companies and manufacturers around the world when assessing the capabilities of their suppliers.

This Standard has been developed to specify the safety, quality and operational criteria required to fulfil obligations with regard to legal compliance and protection of the consumer or end user of the product.

The format and content of the Standard is designed to allow an assessment of a company’s product safety management systems and procedures by a competent third party – the certification body – against the requirements of the Standard.

The Agents and Brokers Standard:

The standard sets out the requirements for companies in the food, packaging and consumer products supply chain that buy, sell or facilitate the trade of products and may provide additional services such as purchase, importation or distribution of the products, but do not manufacture or process those products.

The standard is intended to assist companies and their customers in meeting the legislative requirements for food safety and is designed to support compliance with regulatory requirements such as Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) in the US and EU legislative requirements. It also sets out requirements based on HACCP, Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and supporting Qulaity Management System (QMS).

The Standard is divided into five sections:

Senior Management Commitment and Continual Improvement
Hazard and Risk Assessment
Product Safety and Quality Management System
Supplier and Subcontracted Service Management
Personnel

Benefits of the Agents and Brokers Standard:

The Global Standard for Agents and Brokers is designed to promote best practice on product safety, quality and the operational criteria required to fulfil obligations with regard to legal compliance and consumer protection.