BRCGS, IFS or FSSC 22000 Certification Cost: What Drives the Audit

What makes up the cost of a GFSI certification?

Two separate budgets: the audit, paid to the certification body, and the compliance project (consultancy, training, site works). This article compares the first one across BRCGS, IFS and FSSC 22000. We do not publish prices: without a scope and an audit duration, a figure means nothing.

The cost of the project, which often weighs more, is covered in our articles on BRCGS certification cost in Morocco and FSSC 22000 certification cost.

How does each standard calculate the audit duration?

According to a rule imposed on the certification body, which cannot negotiate it down. The three methods differ in their criteria and in how much they can be reduced.

For BRCGS, the minimum duration, reductions and shop-floor share follow from the audit duration calculator and the audit protocol of the Standard; we do not give a generic figure. Ask the certification body to detail them on its quote.

At IFS, the 0.5-day reduction applies in particular to combined IFS audits, to centralised functions already audited and to some simple, repetitive processes; the 0.75-day reduction to simple handling of fruit and vegetables (GFSI scope BIII) and a few limited processes such as sorting or bottling. A citrus packhouse in the Souss, the Agadir region, that washes, sorts and packs without processing may therefore qualify, depending on its processes; the certification body justifies the reduction in the report. Conversely, the certification body may extend the duration: initial audit, number of lines, age of the site, language problems, findings from the previous audit. An audit team adds at least two hours.

At FSSC 22000, time is rounded up to the next quarter day and an interpreter adds at least 20%. The detail of the thresholds is in our article on FSSC 22000 v7 audit duration.

Do unannounced audits cost more?

Not because of their duration: BRCGS states in its BRCGS079 protocol that an unannounced audit lasts as long as an announced one. The extra cost comes from audits that fail for organisational reasons.

• At BRCGS, a refusal of access leads to suspension, a major non-conformity and a new unannounced audit; no production makes the audit impossible; a contract not signed before the four-month window counts as a major non-conformity.
• At IFS, the unannounced audit falls between 16 weeks before and 2 weeks after the anniversary date; a seasonal site declares its production dates, and the audit takes place during the season, with no blackout period. If not all processes could be audited, an extension audit is needed.
• At FSSC 22000, at least one surveillance audit per cycle is unannounced, and the upgrade audit to Version 7 may be too.

IFS Star status or the “+” of a BRCGS grade has commercial value: it shows the buyer day-to-day control.

How many audits over a three-year cycle?

This is the real budget difference between the three standards. BRCGS and IFS audit the whole standard every year; FSSC 22000 keeps the full audit for the initial audit and recertification, with shorter surveillance audits in between.

The audit result also weighs. A BRCGS grade C or D doubles the number of audits. An IFS Major non-conformity requires a follow-up audit within six months; more than one Major or a score below 75% means a new initial audit. An FSSC 22000 critical non-conformity requires a full follow-up audit, between six weeks and six months later, on top of the annual audits. The cheapest audit is still the one you pass first time.

Two standards on one site: what savings?

Mostly on the project, little on the audit. The common foundation (HACCP, prerequisite programmes, traceability, allergens, culture) is built once; each audit keeps its own rules.

• IFS combined with IFS: an IFS Food and IFS Logistics audit, or IFS Food and IFS Broker, may reduce the duration by 0.5 day if activities are audited together; two reports and two certificates are issued. A manufacturer does not need IFS Logistics for its own logistics, which IFS Food covers.
• IFS Food combined with another standard: all IFS duration rules apply, and the total duration must exceed that of IFS Food alone.
• FSSC 22000 combined with another food safety standard: the total duration must exceed that of FSSC 22000 alone.
• Several BRCGS standards on one site, Food Safety and Storage & Distribution for instance: BRCGS recommends auditing them at the same time.

Before signing, compare the quotes on these points:

• The written scope is identical on every quote: products, lines, sites, modules.
  
• The audit duration is stated, with the standard’s calculation method and any justified reduction.
  
• Preparation and report-writing time are priced separately.
  
• The number of audits over three years is explicit, unannounced audit included.
  
• The cost of an audit that cannot take place (refusal of access, no production) is written down.
  
• The auditor speaks the site’s working language, or the cost of an interpreter is planned.
  
• In a combined audit, the duration of each standard is respected.
  

To choose the standard before comparing costs, see our method for choosing which food safety certification to export with and our BRCGS vs IFS vs FSSC 22000 comparison.