BRCGS Consumer Products Issue 5

What is changing

Issue 5 of the BRCGS Consumer Products standard was published on 13 October 2026. It is the first full revision since Issue 4 launched in 2016 and it changes the structure of the standard as well as the content. Certification audits against Issue 5 commence from 1 June 2027. Any audit carried out before that date is an Issue 4 audit, and certificates issued from those audits stay valid for the period shown on the certificate.

• One standard, one level. The two Issue 4 standards, each with a Foundation and a Higher level, become a single standard with one level of achievement. It covers all types of consumer products.
• New product categories. The categories have been redefined around how products are made, and sites agree their categories with their certification body.
• Risk assessment and HARA. Design, product risk assessment and process risk assessment now sit together, with a hazard analysis and risk assessment plan for the manufacturing process.
• Enhanced hygienic conditions. A new section that applies where legislation or the site’s own risk assessment shows a product can support microbial growth or survival.
• Traded products. A new section covering the management of traded products.
• More audit options. A blended announced audit, with part of the audit done remotely, is available for re-certification audits. The voluntary unannounced option continues with its own grades.
• Notifying incidents. Sites must tell their certification body about a significant product safety or legality incident within 3 working days.
• Phased requirements. A small number of requirements, including some around product safety culture and supply chain vulnerability, only become auditable from 1 June 2028 or 1 June 2029.

Which issue is your next audit against?

Take the audit due date from your current certificate. If your audit takes place before 1 June 2027 it is an Issue 4 audit. From 1 June 2027 it is an Issue 5 audit. If your audit window opens before that date and closes after it, ask your certification body in writing which issue will apply. You can use the audit checker on our BRCGS Consumer Products 5 guide to see where you stand.

How to prepare

Treat the transition as a project with an owner and a deadline. Get an official copy of the standard from BRCGS and read all of it, because clauses have been moved and reworded as well as added. Run a clause by clause gap analysis, turn the gaps into an action plan that finishes well before your audit so the changes produce records, and complete a full internal audit against Issue 5.

Robert Low is a BRCGS Approved Trainer and a formally invited BRCGS Principal Trainer for Issue 5. Remote training, gap analysis and consultancy are available through Cornerstone Solutions.