BRCGS and HACCP: what the certificates mean for your supplier approval
If you buy bread for a supermarket, a hotel or a central kitchen, someone in your company will ask for the supplier approval file. Certificates are a big part of it. Here is what the two most common ones mean in plain language, and how to check that they are genuine.
What HACCP is
HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points. It is a way of thinking about food safety: list everything that could go wrong between raw material and finished product, find the points where you can stop it, and watch those points. For a bakery that means things like how ingredients are stored, how the product is baked and cooled, how it is packed, and how it is handled on the way out. The method is set out in the Codex Alimentarius guidelines.
Our HACCP certification has been in place since 2015. It is issued by ASM Quality Certification (EIAC accredited), under the Codex standard CAC/RCP 1-1969 Rev 4, and its scope runs from raw material storage through manufacturing, packing and distribution.
What BRCGS Food Safety is
BRCGS publishes the Global Standard for Food Safety, a widely used standard that many retailers and food service companies ask their suppliers to meet. A site is audited against it by an independent certification body, and the result is a graded certificate. It looks at the whole site: management commitment, the food safety plan, the building and equipment, how products are controlled, and how people work.
Our bakery is certified to the Global Standard, Issue 9, certified in 2025 by Intertek (UKAS accredited). The certificate number is 0226452.
How to verify a certificate
- Ask the supplier for a copy of the certificate and read the name of the certifying body, the site address and the scope. The address should be the place where your bread is actually baked.
- Check the expiry date. Certificates run for a limited period and are renewed after each audit.
- Confirm it with the source. BRCGS certificates can be looked up in the public BRCGS Directory (directory.brcgs.com). For HACCP, contact the certifying body with the certificate number.
What to put in the approval file
- Copies of the current BRCGS and HACCP certificates
- The product specification for each product you buy
- Ingredient and allergen information for each product
- Delivery details: how often, from where, and on whose vehicles
- A named contact at the supplier
Ask us and we will send the certificates with the product specification, so your team does not have to chase them. See our quality page for the details, or ask us for the documents. If you are weighing up suppliers more broadly, our buyer's checklist may help.