BRCGS Certification NZ: Requirements, Costs and Process

BRCGS certification in New Zealand is a decision about a defined site, products and processes. Before buying preparation work or booking an audit, establish exactly what your customer requires and whether the proposed certification scope matches the operation supplying that customer.

This guide explains the Food Safety certification route, the roles of the business and its advisers, and the questions behind an informed cost and timing estimate. A detailed readiness assessment is a separate step; our BRCGS gap assessment guide explains how to commission that work.

Confirm the BRCGS Food Safety standard and certification scope

BRCGS publishes several standards. A request for “BRC” or “GFSI certification” needs clarification before you select a route. Obtain the customer’s exact scheme name, required scope, any additional module and any conditions for approving your business as a supplier. Another certificate should not be assumed to satisfy that request.

The BRCGS Food Safety Issue 9 standard is the current Food Safety publication checked for this review. Read it with the applicable interpretation material and current position statements. These statements extend the standard; an old downloaded checklist alone may miss a change.

Describe the manufacturing address, products, processing technologies, packing operations and any traded products. Identify off-site activities, shared premises, seasonal production and proposed exclusions for discussion with the certification body. A company name or a general product category is not a complete certification scope.

Keep the site’s statutory food-safety arrangements separate from the certification project. BRCGS certification does not itself register a New Zealand food business or replace its applicable legal obligations and formal verification. A risk management programme (RMP) has its statutory basis under the Animal Products Act 1999. Check the actual regulatory pathway rather than grouping every programme under the Food Act or treating a commercial certificate as an operating permission.

Understand what the site must demonstrate

Food Safety Issue 9 addresses management commitment, HACCP, the food safety and quality system, site standards, product control, process control and personnel. It also contains sections for production risk zones and traded products where applicable. The relevant controls depend on the operation; the complete standard is the assessment reference.

A manual is only part of the evidence. Procedures need to match the site, staff need to understand their work, and operating records need to show implementation. Where HACCP work is required, use our practical HACCP plan development guide as supporting context rather than assuming that buying a document completes the project.

For an initial review, make the following information available:

• The proposed scope and the exact customer requirement.
• Current food-safety documents, product descriptions and process-flow information.
• Relevant validation, supplier, traceability and operating evidence.
• Previous audits, complaints, non-conformities and actions still open.
• The people responsible for implementation and the resources available to them.

This is a recommended preparation list, not a replacement for the standard or a certification-body application form. Identify missing evidence openly so the preparation plan can include obtaining it.

Plan the certification process with the right responsibilities

BRCGS’s certification process guidance starts with understanding the standard, preparing the team and site, and contacting an approved certification body. Use the stages below to agree who owns the work.

1. Agree scope and audit arrangements early

Use the approved certification-body search linked from the BRCGS certification guidance, then confirm the provider can cover the specific products, processes and location. Ask how audit duration is determined, which audit option applies and what information is needed before a date or audit window can be confirmed. The BRCGS Food Safety guidance explains its standardised audit-duration calculation; avoid treating a generic number of days as your site’s quotation.

2. Implement and check the system

Turn identified gaps into an action plan with owners and evidence of completion. Resolve document contradictions, check that staff can use the procedures, and carry out the necessary internal checks. A proposed action, a completed correction and evidence that it works are different records.

3. Complete the audit and respond to the outcome

The certification audit examines practical implementation through observation, document review and staff interviews. Retain the report and confirm the evidence, response route and dates that apply to each finding. The certification body then reviews the outcome and decides whether certification can be granted.

Understand findings, grades and ongoing audit arrangements

The BRCGS-authored Issue 9 base audit protocol, publicly hosted by NIFCC links grading to the number and severity of non-conformities. Critical findings, a major against a fundamental statement of intent, or findings beyond the certification limits can prevent certification and require another full audit. For an already certificated site, the relevant non-certification outcome requires withdrawal.

For major and minor findings that allow certification to proceed, the announced-audit protocol requires satisfactory corrective-action evidence, root-cause analysis and a preventive-action plan within 28 calendar days. Specified outcomes require a revisit or remote assessment. Confirm the exact response with the certification body; a finding’s classification changes what must happen next.

Ongoing Food Safety audits follow the recertification protocol. The base schedule can be six or twelve months depending on the findings and resulting grade. Announced arrangements also include mandatory unannounced audits under the scheme rules. Use the actual certificate, audit history and confirmed programme for planning.

The current F926 Issue 9 position statements, version 4.1 dated 6 October 2026 include audit-planning responsibilities and restrictions on changing certification body near the re-audit due date. Discuss a proposed change early. A provider switch should not be treated as a way to reset the existing audit history or avoid applicable arrangements.

Compare BRCGS certification costs and preparation time

There is no reliable single price for every New Zealand site. Request a written certification-body quotation and a separate consulting scope where support is needed. State the same products, processes, site information, audit status and target outcome to each provider so the quotations can be compared.

Ask the certification body to identify audit and reporting charges, relevant scheme or service fees, travel, follow-up work, scope changes and the basis of future recertification charges. Confirm tax, exclusions, cancellation conditions and what triggers a revised quote.

For consulting, identify whether the proposal covers a gap review only, document development, implementation support, internal auditing, staff awareness or help with corrective-action evidence. Agree the output of each stage and who obtains missing specifications, technical studies or other specialist evidence.

Preparation time depends on the starting position and work still needed. Separate the time to obtain evidence, make physical or system changes, train people and demonstrate implementation from the certification body’s availability and review process. Build a project plan from those tasks rather than adopting an unsupported standard preparation period.

A useful commercial question is: “What evidence and work would still be outstanding after this quoted stage?” That exposes a narrow review sold as a complete preparation programme and helps prevent an audit booking from becoming the only project milestone.

Avoid common mistakes before committing

• Choosing a certificate before confirming the customer’s actual requirement.
• Assuming one company certificate automatically covers every site and activity.
• Comparing a document-only quote with implementation support as if they were the same work.
• Relying on an old checklist without current position statements.
• Booking around a preferred date without confirming the audit programme and production availability.
• Treating every finding as the same close-out route or assuming every future audit is annual.
• Expecting consulting support to guarantee a grade, certification or a customer contract.

Scope practical BRCGS consulting support with AFVA

AFVA’s BRCGS consulting service supports gap assessments, documentation and clause reviews, internal-audit preparation, staff awareness, corrective-action planning and readiness checks. AFVA provides consulting and readiness support; certification is completed by an approved certification body.

Send the site location, products and processes, exact customer requirement, current audit status, previous findings and the outcome you want from the first stage. Tell us about any proposed changes and any date already communicated to a customer. We can discuss the appropriate scope, evidence needed and practical next step.

Agree independence and conflict-of-interest arrangements before combining advisory work with any independent assessment. The site remains responsible for implementation, and the certification body retains the certification decision.

General information only: This guide was reviewed on 22 October 2026. Certification requirements depend on the standard, current position statements, site scope, audit programme and findings. Use the complete current scheme documents and confirm site-specific arrangements with the approved certification body. Applicable New Zealand legal obligations remain separate.