British Retail Consortium
In 1998 the British Retail Consortium (BRC) developed and introduced the BRC Technical Standard and Protocol for companies supplying retailer branded food products. The standard was developed to assist retailers in their fulfillment of legal obligations and protection of the consumer, by providing a common basis for the audit of companies supplying retailer branded food products.
There are a number of benefits arising from the implementation of the BRC Global Standard – Food: It could reduce the number of food safety audits by each retailer and allow technologists to concentrate on other areas, such as product development, or specific quality issues. It provides a single standard and protocol, allowing evaluation to be carried out by certification bodies who are accredited against the European standard EN45011 (ISO/IEC Guide 65).