BRCGS Certification Explained for Ghanaian Exporters
What BRCGS certification is, how the process works, and what it means for Ghanaian food and packaging exporters selling into global supply chains.
BRCGS certification comes up constantly once a Ghanaian exporter starts talking to buyers in the UK, EU, or other markets that run strict food and packaging supply chains. If you process cocoa, fish, shea, or packaged food products for export, a buyer may ask whether your facility is BRCGS certified before they sign a contract. This guide explains what BRCGS certification is, how the process works in practice, and what it actually changes for your export business.
On this page
What BRCGS certification actually is
BRCGS states that its Standards help businesses demonstrate product safety, quality and legality across global supply chains through internationally recognised certification [brcgs.com/certification]. In practice, this means a BRCGS Standard sets out requirements for how a factory manages hazards, hygiene, traceability, and documentation, and an outside body checks whether your facility meets them.
BRCGS itself does not inspect your factory. The checking is carried out by certification bodies that are approved to work within the BRCGS network, which BRCGS describes as an international network of approved certification bodies [brcgs.com/certification]. That structure matters for one practical reason: the certification body you pick, not BRCGS directly, is who shows up at your site, reviews your records, and signs off on the result.
How the certification process works
The path to a BRCGS certificate generally follows these stages:
- Get the current Standard. Buy or obtain the published version of the BRCGS Standard that applies to your product category (Food Safety, Packaging Materials, or another relevant Standard), and read it against your current operation.
- Run a gap assessment. Compare your facility's hazard controls, hygiene practices, pest management, and traceability records against what the Standard requires. This is usually where exporters find the most work is needed.
- Fix the gaps you find. Traceability documentation is a common weak spot — batch records, supplier declarations, and recall procedures need to trace a product forward and backward through your supply chain, not just exist on paper.
- Choose a certification body. Certification bodies differ in cost, scheduling availability, and sector experience. Ask prospective bodies directly how many food or packaging facilities of your size and product type they have certified before committing.
- Go through the audit. The auditor checks documentation and physically inspects the site. Findings are usually graded, with the most serious being non-conformities that must be corrected before a certificate is issued, and minor ones that need a documented corrective action plan.
- Receive the certificate and maintain it. Certification is not a one-time event — it requires ongoing record-keeping and periodic re-audits to stay valid.
BRCGS says the oversight behind this process is meant to guarantee that every BRCGS certificate is reliable and globally comparable [brcgs.com/certification] — in other words, a certificate issued in Tema is meant to be read the same way by a buyer evaluating it as one issued anywhere else in the network.
Worked example: a Tema cocoa processor
Consider a mid-size cocoa processing facility in Tema that wants BRCGS Food Safety certification because a European buyer has asked for it. The facility already holds a certificate of origin for regional trade, but BRCGS is a different kind of document — it speaks to food safety and process control inside the factory, not to where the cocoa was grown.
The first real work is traceability. Many processors track incoming cocoa by supplier and delivery date but struggle to show, batch by batch, exactly which inputs (bags, packaging, cleaning chemicals) went into which finished lot. This is one of the more common gaps auditors flag, because it requires linking paper or digital records across purchasing, production, and dispatch — not just having the records exist somewhere.
Picking the certification body is also a decision worth slowing down for. Two bodies auditing against the same Standard can still differ sharply in how familiar their auditors are with cocoa processing specifically, which affects how smoothly the audit goes and how the findings are explained. Asking a prospective certification body for references from other West African food processors, before signing a contract with them, avoids a mismatch discovered only on audit day.
Once the facility addresses its traceability gaps and completes the audit, it holds a certificate that a buyer can check through the certification body or the BRCGS network rather than relying on a document the exporter sent by email — the same distinction covered in Audit Trail vs Emailed Certificates: What a Buyer Needs. That verifiability is what the buyer is actually asking for when they request BRCGS certification in the first place.
BRCGS compared with other certifications
| Certification | What it covers | Typical use for Ghanaian exporters |
|---|---|---|
| BRCGS (Food Safety / Packaging) | Factory-level product safety, quality, and legality controls, audited by an approved certification body | Requested by retail and food-service buyers, especially in the UK and EU |
| AfCFTA certificate of origin | Where goods were produced, to qualify for preferential tariffs within Africa | Needed for duty-free access to other African Union markets, separate from factory safety controls |
| HACCP certification | Hazard analysis and critical control points within a food production process | Often required as a foundation before attempting BRCGS, since BRCGS builds on HACCP-style hazard control |
| FSSC 22000 certification | Food safety management system built on ISO standards | An alternative food-safety scheme some buyers accept in place of, or alongside, BRCGS |
| ISO 9001 certification | General quality management system, not specific to food or packaging | Useful for broader quality credibility, but does not replace a food-safety-specific audit buyers may still require |
Frequently asked questions
Is BRCGS certification the same as a HACCP certificate?
No. HACCP certification focuses specifically on identifying and controlling hazards at critical points in a production process. BRCGS is a broader Standard that typically expects HACCP-style hazard analysis as one part of a wider set of requirements covering hygiene, traceability, documentation, and site management.
Do I need BRCGS certification if I already hold a certificate of origin?
They answer different questions. A certificate of origin establishes where your goods were produced for tariff purposes. BRCGS certification addresses whether your factory's food safety and quality controls meet a recognised Standard. Buyers who ask for BRCGS are not substituting it for origin documentation — they are asking a separate question about your production process.
Who actually carries out the BRCGS audit?
An approved certification body carries out the audit, not BRCGS itself. BRCGS describes its programmes as delivered through an international network of approved certification bodies, so the body you select handles scheduling, the site visit, and issuing the certificate.
What happens after I get certified — does it guarantee a buyer order?
Certification gives a buyer a way to verify your food safety controls without running their own factory audit, but the buyer still separately evaluates price, volume capacity, and other commercial terms before placing an order. Ask the buyer directly, before you start the certification process, whether BRCGS alone meets their requirement or whether they also expect other documentation — this avoids spending months on certification only to find a further requirement was never mentioned.
How do I pick a certification body in Ghana or the wider region?
Ask each prospective certification body how many facilities similar to yours — same product category and roughly the same size — they have certified. Auditor familiarity with your specific product (cocoa, fish, packaged food) tends to make the audit itself more predictable, and a body with relevant experience is better placed to explain findings in terms you can act on.
Sources
- BRCGS — Certification (opens in a new tab)Reviewed as of 15.01.2025
