What is the BRCGS Global Standard for Packaging and Packaging Materials?
Supermarket buyers, food distributors, and major retailers often ask for a packaging supplier’s BRCGS certificate before they’ll agree to list a food product.
BRCGS stands for Brand Reputation through Compliance Global Standards, formerly known as the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
BRCGS Packaging Materials is the Global Standard for packaging and packaging materials supplied into the food supply chain.
The standard for packaging and packaging materials sets the food safety management, hygiene, and traceability requirements that a packaging manufacturing facility must meet to achieve certification.
BRCGS and the Global Food Safety Initiative
The standard provides a framework for the production of safe packaging under audited, traceable conditions.
It was the first packaging standard to be recognised by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), and it remains the benchmark most widely used by food retailers and food manufacturers when assessing the capabilities of a packaging supplier.
BRCGS operates across more than 130 countries and is a packaging certification widely recognised by retailers internationally.
If you operate in multiple countries or if you are planning to expand your business in the future, Custom Pack Studio’s facility is here for you.
What BRCGS certification at High Hygiene level means
The BRCGS Packaging Materials certification programme assigns production sites to hygiene grades based on the type of packaging they produce.
High Hygiene is the most demanding grade, required for facilities producing packaging for hygiene-sensitive consumer products, including direct food-contact packaging, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical packaging materials.
What the High Hygiene audit covers
To achieve certification at High Hygiene, a packaging manufacturing facility undergoes an audit by an accredited third-party certification body.
The audit covers the facility’s food safety management system, hygiene controls, product safety and quality systems, safety and quality criteria, and traceability procedures.
No grade is awarded unless the facility meets all of these across the full assessment.
High Hygiene in practice for food manufacturers
High Hygiene certification demonstrates that the facility maintains high standards of safety throughout its packaging manufacturing operation, verified independently.
For food manufacturers, ordering from a High Hygiene certified supplier means the packaging materials used in food production and processing were made under independently audited conditions.
Our Irvine facility and BRCGS Packaging Materials certification
The Irvine production facility holds BRCGS Packaging Materials certification at High Hygiene level.
Certification is held at site level, and our parent company KennedySmith (Press) Ltd holds the BRCGS accreditation.
Custom Pack Studio works closely to supply food-safe packaging to food manufacturers and brands across the UK.
The facility’s management system, production controls, and documentation all meet the requirements of the BRCGS global standard.
Certification is renewed through re-audit, so the site maintains its BRCGS Packaging Materials certification through ongoing compliance between audit cycles.
Certificate documentation and scope
For buyers assessing the capabilities of a packaging supplier, the Irvine facility’s BRCGS Packaging Materials certification is available on request.
The certificate documents the scope, hygiene grade, and validity of the accredited certification.
It can be referenced directly in a food manufacturer’s own certification paperwork, and it covers all packaging products and materials produced at the Irvine site within the scope of the accreditation.
Types of food-safe packaging materials from our certified facility
The types of packaging produced at the Irvine facility include folding cartons, printed boxes, sleeves, postal mailer boxes, and corrugated packaging for all applications.
All packaging products and materials from the site are covered under the BRCGS Packaging Materials (High Hygiene) certification, across food-contact and non-food product lines alike.
Folding cartons and food packaging
Printed folding cartons, including reverse tuck-end boxes, crash-lock boxes, and sleeve formats, are produced at the Irvine facility under the hygiene and food safety conditions the High Hygiene grade requires.
Food packaging producers who need printed cartons for packaging materials used in food applications can order directly from the certified facility.
For food and drink brands, artisan food producers, and food manufacturers supplying retailers, the facility’s BRC certification means the carton packaging arrives from a site whose food safety management and hygiene controls have been audited against BRC standards.
Cosmetic, supplement, and pharmaceutical packaging
High Hygiene certification covers packaging for hygiene-sensitive consumer products beyond the food sector.
Cosmetic packaging, supplement cartons, and pharmaceutical packaging materials produced at the Irvine facility meet the same product safety and quality standards as the food-contact packaging made there.
For health and beauty brands supplying retailers who require accredited certification from their packaging suppliers, the Irvine facility’s BRCGS certificate covers these packaging products as well.
Non-food packaging from the certified facility
Non-food packaging, including postal mailer boxes, gusseted e-commerce boxes, and corrugated packaging, is produced at the Irvine facility under the same quality and operational controls as the food-contact packaging lines within the certified production environment.
Who needs packaging from a BRCGS-certified manufacturer?
If you supply supermarkets, convenience retailers, or food service operators, your buyer will ask for your packaging supplier’s BRCGS certificate as part of their supplier approval process.
Food standards checks in those approval processes will ask for the certificate by name as a condition of listing.
Food supply chain requirements
When a brand owner sets up a supplier approval process, BRCGS accreditation from companies supplying packaging materials is typically listed as a requirement.
Many brand owners extend that requirement to all packaging in their supply chain, because the standard is recognised globally as the accepted benchmark for packaging supplier assurance.
Producers of packaging who want to supply food manufacturers without repeated buyer audits will find that BRCGS certification removes that friction.
A certified site also satisfies food packaging producers supplying into multiple retailer programmes without separate assessments for each buyer.
Consumer goods and health and beauty brands
If you supply Boots, Superdrug, or any of the grocery multiples, their packaging supplier approval process will ask for BRCGS certification by name.
These retailers set supplier standards beyond basic legal compliance, and the packaging certification is part of what they check.
Supplement brands, cosmetics companies, and other consumer goods businesses have the same buyer certification requirement.
The Irvine facility’s BRCGS certification covers consumer products in these sectors alongside food packaging, with no minimum order for any format.
BRC Global Packaging: frequently asked questions
What does BRC stand for?
BRC stands for British Retail Consortium, the organisation that developed the original certification programme for packaging manufacturers supplying retailers and food manufacturers. The scheme is now operated as BRCGS, which stands for Brand Reputation through Compliance Global Standards, and it’s now run as an independent global standards organisation. “BRC certification” is still used as informal shorthand by buyers. Both terms refer to the same standard under its current name.
What is the BRCGS Packaging Materials global standard?
BRCGS Packaging Materials is a food safety standard for packaging manufacturers that supply packaging and packaging materials to food manufacturers and retailers. The standard defines the food safety management, hygiene, product safety, and traceability requirements a packaging manufacturing facility must meet to achieve BRCGS Packaging Materials certification.
Is BRCGS recognised globally?
BRCGS is recognised by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). That recognition places it on equal footing with other GFSI-benchmarked food safety certification schemes, and it means BRCGS certification is accepted by many retailers and food manufacturers in markets internationally.
Who grants BRCGS packaging certification?
BRCGS certification is granted by accredited certification bodies, not by BRCGS itself. These are independent auditing organisations approved to provide certification services to packaging manufacturers seeking BRCGS Packaging Materials certification. The certification body conducts the site audit and awards the BRCGS certification grade.
Get a free quote for BRC-certified packaging materials
Our Irvine facility produces food-safe packaging materials under BRCGS Packaging Materials (High Hygiene) certification, with no minimum order and design support included.
However big or small your operation, we have the flexibility and power to cater to your needs.
Call us on 01294 314 919 or email contact@custompackstudio.co.uk with details of what you’re packaging, the format you need, and the quantities.
