Portal allows compliance with Food 7 Standard

Trace One and BRC Global Standards have announced the updated BRC Global Standards Directory powered by Trace One, which now allows retailers and suppliers to ensure compliance against the new globally recognised Food 7 Standard, introduced in January and active since July.

Building on Trace One and the BRC partnership since 2008, the BRC Global Standards Directory now supports over 23,000 certificated manufacturers in 123 countries, as well as 1,600 auditors associated with around 77 certification bodies. Alongside the update for Food 7, other enhancements to the BRC Global Standards Directory portal are designed to help retailers and suppliers ensure that auditing is working for them; giving retailers greater flexibility, manufacturers greater productivity and cost savings associated with facility/production audits, and new suppliers easier entry to BRC certification.

“The rise in consumer demand for food quality information shows no sign of abating. This is reflected in the amount of certification information on record, with upwards of 100 audits being uploaded to the directory in an average day,” says Jerome Malavoy, CEO at Trace One. “The updated portal marks the ongoing success of our seven-year relationship with BRC Global Standards and reflects our joint objectives of allowing both retailers and suppliers to collaborate while navigating this information, which is so fundamental to consumer trust.”

Features of the updated BRC Global Standards Directory include:

• Food 7 Standard: the portal allows for suppliers to be certificated against the new Food 7 Standard specified by BRC Global Standards
• Private audits: retailers can now specify their own audit scheme modules to be audited at the same time as the BRC Food 7 audit visit. This serves to reduce the time, cost and productivity implications that multiple audit visits have previously placed on the manufacturer
• Voluntary modules: enhanced functionality enables BRC Global Standards to add/manage retailer specific scheme modules within the Food 7 template while enabling the ability to list, search and report on these additional certifications
• Global markets: supporting the Food 7 global markets initiative, new suppliers can initially be certificated against entry level audits; meaning organisations that are not ready for or do not need full BRC Global Standards certification can still demonstrate best practice in food safety.

“No two retailers or suppliers are alike. With these additions, we’ve not only given the industry a means to trust in its complete compliance with Food 7, but we’ve also ensured that food retailers and manufacturers can pursue their own food safety measures, and the competitive differentiation these enable, more cost effectively,” says Mark Proctor, CEO of BRC Global Standards.

“BRC Global Standards and Trace One’s relationship has been a benefit for both parties and the industry as a whole, and we foresee it continually adding additional benefits for the BRC Global Standards community into the future.”