Both are standards in the field of food safety, ISO 22000 and BRC have similarities and differences. ISSQ Quality Institute will help customers answer some questions to better understand these two standards.

What are ISO 22000 and BRC?

ISO 22000 is a Food Safety Management System standard issued by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) on September 1, 2005. After more than 10 years of development, ISO 22000 has undergone various improvements to achieve better performance, with the latest version currently being ISO 22000:2018.

BRC (British Retail Consortium) is an organization established by manufacturers and suppliers of food and consumer goods in 1998. To date, the latest version of the BRC Standard is Version 8, published in 2018. The BRC standard consolidates requirements for organizations and enterprises involved in commercial activities, manufacturing, and distribution of goods in the food industry.

Subjects and Scope

Currently, ISO 22000 is one of the most widely certified standards worldwide. The standard includes all requirements related to food safety such as management systems and hazard control. ISO 22000 applies to a wide range of organizations directly or indirectly related to the food sector in various forms such as restaurants, food manufacturing companies, catering and food transportation services, etc.

As a global food safety standard, BRC has become one of the most widely used standards worldwide, alongside other standards such as FSSC 22000, ISO 22000, HACCP, etc. The BRC standard can be applied to organizations and enterprises of all sizes operating in the food sector such as seafood, fruits and vegetables, beverages, beer, wine, edible oils, or food packaging materials in contact with food.

Benefits of Certification

Applying ISO 22000 brings many benefits such as standardizing all management activities in production and business operations; serving as a basis for integrating various standards such as GMP, HACCP, EUROGAP, BRC, SQF, IFS; minimizing risks and costs related to food poisoning incidents, lawsuits, and customer complaints; enhancing reputation and customer satisfaction; improving overall business performance.

Implementing ISO 22000 provides significant benefits for both enterprises and consumers such as:

• Ability to consistently provide safe food and related products and services that meet customer requirements as well as applicable statutory and regulatory requirements;
• Addressing risks related to organizational objectives;
• Demonstrating conformity with food safety management system requirements;
• Ensuring that food will not cause harm to consumer health when prepared and/or consumed as intended;
• Minimizing food safety hazards from biological, chemical, or physical agents that may adversely affect health;
• Ensuring clear traceability of food products at specific stages of production, processing, and distribution;
• Measurement, monitoring, and continual improvement.

ISO 22000 and BRC Certification at ISSQ Quality Institute

The Institute for Standard and Quality Development Studies (ISSQ Quality Institute) is a certification body licensed by the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality – Ministry of Science and Technology of Vietnam. Currently, ISSQ Quality Institute provides certification services in science and technology fields, including BRC Standard certification (2018).

To help enterprises improve product quality and enable consumers to use safe food products, ISSQ Quality Institute is ready to accompany customers in addressing the current situation of unsafe food affecting public health. At ISSQ Quality Institute, customers will receive support from a reliable and experienced team of experts.

ISSQ Quality Institute is always ready to accompany companies during the period of integration and development.

Please contact us via hotline: +84 981 851 111 | +84 24 2266 1111 or email: vienchatluong@issq.org.vn | tcvn@issq.org.vn

Posted date: February 10, 2022