BRC a IFS

BRC - British Retail Consortium

The British Retail Consortium is a world-wide food safety standard originating in the United Kingdom. As a standard, it is required for the export of foodstuffs to the United Kingdom and numerous other countries. In the beginning, the standard was set up for producers manufacturing private brands for retail chains in an effort to ensure the chain of the producer's ability to manufacture a safe product that complies with all requirements and agreements with the customer as well as with legislation, so that the retailer has no troubles with the product in the future; the European Union legislation stipulates that retailers as well as private brand owners bear full responsibility for the quality of goods sold under such brands. With respect to fact that the standard proved itself in this area and in regard to growing problems on the market, the retailers gradually began to prefer suppliers who own this certificate, as it indicates continuous control by an independent external company according to a clearly compiled list of requirements based on long-term experience and knowledge in this field.

IFS - International Food Standard

The International Food Standard is an international food safety standard. Besides the BRC, the IFS is a GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) approved standard. The standard was originally created in Germany and was endorsed by France and Italy afterwards. In the Czech Republic, the number of issued IFS certificates is higher than the BRC certificates. A unified rating system is used for the qualification and selection of suppliers. It helps foodstuffs vendors ensure the safety of products they offer and monitors the quality level of brand-name foodstuffs. The standard was developed in Germany by the local retail federation (HDE - Handelsverband Deutschland), amended in 2004 in cooperation with the French retail federation (FCD - Fédération du Commerce et de la Distribution), and finally, the Italian trade federation joined the process in 2005. The standard is supported by the HDE as well as FCD member organisations, and it is also promoted by the Italian associations of Federdistribuzione, ANCC and ANCD.

The objective of both standards is to establish a common standard and unified system rating to ensure compatibility and transparency within the whole supplier chain and to lower the costs and time intensity for both the suppliers and vendors.