A Roadmap Of BRC Certification To FSMA Compliance

By John Kukoly, Director, BRC Americas

No doubt, everyone is well aware of FSMA. And, for the most part, everyone understands what it entails in a general sense. When it comes to a more practical outlook, there is much less certainty. This article will draw the connection between BRC certification and the expectations around the Food Safety Modernization Act.

First things first. FSMA, as well as the BRC Global Standard, are both intended to lay the groundwork to the consistent production of safe food products. Both were designed for good reason, and when executed properly, both work. Although there is a significant amount of overlap, there are a few unique aspects to each. As a result, having BRC certification does not guarantee you meet every detail within FSMA, but it does get you about 90 percent of the way there.

Who FSMA applies to has seen a fair bit of debate. Best advice here: don’t put any effort into trying to prove you are exempt — it’s food safety basics. No one is really exempt and wiggling out on a technicality does not mean you don’t need a safe operation. Even for those sites that don’t fall under the regulatory aspects of FSMA (most exemptions are size related), there is little in the general concept of the regulation that can’t be seen as the right thing to do. So get on with it.

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