BRCGS Certification in Morocco and Africa: Consultant and Method

What is BRCGS certification, and why do buyers ask for it?

BRCGS certification confirms, after an independent audit, that a site controls the safety, legality and quality of what it makes, stores or trades. It is granted by a BRCGS-approved certification body, never by a consultant.

For an exporter in Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal or Egypt, BRCGS is first of all a market-access requirement. BRCGS is one of the certification programme owners recognised by GFSI, so a retailer or manufacturer can accept the certificate instead of auditing each supplier itself. The BRCGS Food Safety guide to certification states that certified sites are listed in the BRCGS Directory, which BRCGS describes as the shop window brands and retailers use to select suppliers.

For a buyer in Europe or the Gulf sourcing from Africa, the logic runs the other way. A supplier with a valid BRCGS certificate, on the right standard and the right audit programme, reduces the number of audits you need to run yourself. The question is whether the certificate covers what you actually buy.

The Food Safety standard can be accessed free of charge through the BRCGS Store, according to its guide to certification. The cost lies in the project itself: consultancy, training, site work and the audit.

Which five BRCGS standards are in force today?

Five BRCGS standards cover almost every need of food and packaging businesses in Africa and the Middle East, each with a single audit version today. The table follows ACG’s standards register and the official BRCGS and GFSI pages.

Two points matter for a decision-maker.

Additional modules, such as the e-commerce, cross-docking, wholesale or contracted packing modules of Storage & Distribution, are not graded. BRCGS assesses them on a pass/fail basis, and their non-conformities do not count in the main standard’s grade.

GFSI recognition must be checked standard by standard, and even audit programme by audit programme. The GFSI page shows, for example, that Storage & Distribution Issue 4 is recognised only with the announced, unannounced (options 1 and 2) and blended announced audit programmes, and that Packaging Materials is still listed at Issue 6. If a buyer asks for "a GFSI-recognised certificate", check the exact line before choosing.

Which BRCGS standard fits which business?

The right standard depends on what your site physically does to the product, not on the name of your sector.

You process food: Food Safety Issue 9. A sardine cannery in Agadir, a tomato processor in the Souss, a cocoa or cashew processor in Côte d’Ivoire, a biscuit plant in Cairo. Food Safety Issue 9 covers, among other things, senior management commitment and food safety culture, the HACCP plan, the management system, the production environment, product and process control, and personnel. The heaviest gaps we see at gap analysis stage concern management-led food safety culture, building condition, allergens and the ability to prove what is done every day.

You make packaging: Packaging Materials Issue 7. A can maker in Kénitra, a flexible film printer in Casablanca or a carton producer supplying food plants falls under Packaging Materials, in Issue 7 since April 2025. A system still documented on the previous issue must be upgraded before the next audit. According to BRCGS, Issue 7 strengthened the fundamental requirements, now eight, and introduced or enhanced clauses on allergens and on single-use disposable products for foodservice; since 10 August 2026, position statement P708 has also amended product defence and cleaning. The upgrade starts with a new gap analysis against the Issue 7 self-assessment checklist: see our BRCGS Packaging Materials page.

For packaging exported to the European Union, Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (PPWR) adds its own obligations: it has applied since 12 August 2026, with obligations phased in over time and harmonised labelling not before 12 August 2028. BRCGS does not replace regulatory compliance, but a well-run Packaging Materials system makes it easier to evidence.

You store or move product: Storage & Distribution Issue 4. A cold store near Tanger Med, a logistics hub serving West African ports, a temperature-controlled carrier. Watch points: temperature control, packaging integrity, pallet traceability and handling of non-conforming product.

You buy and sell without processing: Agents & Brokers Issue 3. A trader in Casablanca or Dubai buying from canneries and reselling for export, without touching the product. Since the trader does not control manufacturing, the audit focuses on supplier approval and monitoring, traceability, specifications and incident management.

You are starting out: START!. A development programme for food businesses not yet ready for Food Safety, with Basic and Intermediate levels. BRCGS presents it as a pathway to Food Safety Issue 9 and provides a transition tool. Ask your buyer in writing whether it accepts a START! certificate before you choose this route.

How does BRCGS certification work?

BRCGS publishes an official route: read the standard and its interpretation guideline, train, self-assess, prepare, get audited, correct, get certified. ACG’s method, shown on this page, follows the same logic.

Audit duration depends on site size, the number of HACCP studies and the scope. It is not negotiable: the certification body calculates it with the audit duration calculator BRCGS provides for Issue 9, and it is the same for announced and unannounced audits. Ask each certification body to state it, with its calculation, in its offer.

Announced or unannounced: what does BRCGS require for Issue 9?

For Food Safety Issue 9, BRCGS provides three options: announced audits (fully on site or blended), mandatory unannounced audits and a voluntary unannounced programme. Every certified site must have at least one unannounced audit every three years. These rules are set out in BRCGS position statement document F926 for Issue 9; its version 4, effective from 10 August 2026, aligns it with the GFSI Benchmarking Requirements 2024.

What it means in practice:

• within three months of an audit, the certification body discusses the options with you and tells you the year of the mandatory unannounced audit, but not the date;
• an unannounced audit can take place at any point in the last four months of the cycle, including the 28 calendar days before the due date;
• the site must make the audit possible: contract agreed with the certification body before the window opens, maintenance shutdowns communicated. Otherwise a major non-conformity is raised and the certificate may expire;
• a site cannot change certification body in the four months before its re-audit due date, unless BRCGS agrees in writing.

A site leaving the voluntary unannounced programme returns to an announced audit, no later than the anniversary of its last audit. If it received a C+ or D+ grade, the next audit is due six months after the last one. BRCGS grades every audit from AA to D, with a “+” after an unannounced audit (AA+, A+…). The grade sets the pace: under the BRCGS079 protocol, a site graded C or D is audited every six months, the others every twelve months. The scale linking the number and level of non-conformities to each grade is in the Issue 9 audit protocol, which the certification body applies.

What about Issue 10?

Nothing changes yet. Issue 10 of Food Safety is in preparation, but BRCGS has published neither the final text nor a publication or effective date, so no new requirement can be audited today. A project starting now is prepared against Issue 9, and a certificate stays valid until it expires. When Issue 10 is published, every site ACG supports receives a written gap analysis between its Issue 9 system and the new version, an upgrade plan and a training proposal.

Is your site ready for a BRCGS project?

Check these points with your management team before signing with a consultant or booking an audit.

• The buyer’s request is in writing: standard, version, accepted audit programme, deadline.
  
• The standard matches what the site really does (processing, packaging, storage, trading).
  
• The national food safety authorisation is up to date (ONSSA in Morocco, or its equivalent).
  
• A HACCP plan exists and has been verified on the floor recently.
  
• An internal project lead is named, with protected time every week.
  
• Management is ready to lead a food safety culture plan, not just sign it.
  
• A budget is set aside for infrastructure gaps.
  
• Training is planned for HACCP teams, process owners and internal auditors.
  
• A traceability and recall test has been run on a real batch.
  
• The site can host an unannounced audit throughout the four-month window.
  

If more than three boxes are empty, start with a gap analysis rather than an audit date.

BRCGS, IFS or FSSC 22000: do you have to choose?

Yes, and your buyer chooses first. All three are GFSI-recognised, but each market has its habits. BRCGS is widespread with UK retailers. IFS Food, Version 8 mandatory since January 2024, is common with German and French retailers. FSSC 22000, whose Version 7 was published in May 2026, builds on ISO 22000 and is often requested by multinational manufacturers.

One certificate does not replace another for a buyer who has chosen its standard. But a system built properly for BRCGS covers much of the common foundation: HACCP, prerequisite programmes, traceability, allergens, fraud, culture. Build it once, then add what each standard requires on top. For the wider picture, see our food safety consulting hub.

Why work with a BRCGS consultant, and which one?

A consultant is useful when your team lacks time or GFSI audit experience, or when the buyer’s deadline is short. BRCGS says a site may obtain consultancy while preparing, and also that it accepts no liability for advice given by approved consultants. The choice is yours, and so is the risk.

Choose on verifiable evidence: a listing in the official BRCGS consultant directory for your standard; real GFSI audit experience in your sector; a written gap analysis before any overall quote; defined deliverables, not just a number of days; a full mock audit separate from working visits; real skills transfer; and a clear commitment never to be your certification auditor.

ACG supports food exporters, packaging manufacturers, warehouses and traders towards the five BRCGS standards across Morocco, Africa and the MENA region, with 502 projects, 32 consultants and experts and a 100% success rate on the certifications it has supported. Missions combine on-site visits at key stages with remote follow-up, so a site in Senegal or Angola keeps the same pace as one in Casablanca. Teams are trained in French, Arabic or English through our training offer; Moroccan companies can review the CSF and OFPPT funding rules, with a simulation and no promised amount. To start, describe your project.