BRCGS Packaging Materials: Frequently asked questions

Which scope and rules apply?

BRCGS Packaging Materials concerns product safety and quality in packaging manufacture. The current basis is Issue 7 and its applicable position statements. A food site’s Food Safety certification does not automatically cover the packaging manufacturer’s operations.

What must the application explain?

Describe the material, intended use, production address and processing steps in the application. Identify printing, lamination and converting separately. Record customer information about food contact use, and verify the certification body’s Packaging Materials scope in the official BRCGS directory.

How is practice demonstrated?

Connect a packaging batch to raw material lots, production settings, inspection results and dispatch records. Show which specification and customer revision applied to its intended use. An investigation into a printing error should examine controls rather than stop at an operator training record.

How are continuity and costs planned?

Timing and cost depend on sites, process complexity, product groups and usable existing evidence. Technical testing, consultancy and certification audits are distinct services. A single fee or number of days cannot represent every packaging manufacturer.

Is an existing certificate enough after a change?

A hypothetical packaging producer transfers approved artwork to a new laminate structure. Previous artwork approval does not establish the new material’s intended use. Link the customer’s use description, layer and adhesive changes, approved drawing version and manufactured batch. Examine the necessary food-contact compliance evidence separately; a Packaging Materials assessment does not automatically replace that legal compliance.

Does Kayra make the certification decision?

Kayra Patent consultancy supports scope definition, record organisation and tracking unfinished preparation work. The relevant authorised or scheme approved body performs the audit and makes the certification decision. Separate consultancy and that body’s services in the quotation.

Official sources

Content checked: 3 October 2026. Scheme rules rely on official sources; record structures and work plans are editorial recommendations. Check the complete requirements and the body’s current scope separately.

• BRCGS — Packaging Materials certification
• BRCGS — Position statements