A distributor asking a pork exporter “are you certified?” is asking the wrong question. Certified to what, by whom, and to what grade? IFS Food and the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety are the two certifications that come up most often in European meat export, and while both are legitimate, GFSI-recognized schemes, they are not interchangeable, and neither one is automatically enough for every market. This guide breaks down what each certification actually covers, how their grading systems differ, and how they connect to the export approvals — like China’s GACC registration — that determine which markets a supplier can actually reach.
What is IFS Food certification, and what does it actually check?
IFS Food was developed by German and French retail federations and remains the standard most commonly required by continental European retailers. According to SafetyCulture’s guide to the standard, IFS Food certification covers six primary areas: the food safety management system itself, resource management (infrastructure, training, personnel), the planning and production process, measurement and continuous improvement, food defense against intentional contamination, and product fraud mitigation.
What sets IFS apart from safety-only schemes is that it audits quality management and food safety in the same assessment. According to an overview from ASI Food, IFS evaluates both product safety and quality management in a single audit, covering food fraud mitigation, food defense, allergen management, and environmental monitoring programs together, rather than treating quality as a separate concern from safety.
IFS uses a percentage-based scoring system with letter grades — A, B, C, or D — and a “Higher Level” certification tier for companies scoring above 95%, a distinction the same ASI Food overview describes as a meaningful incentive for continuous improvement beyond the pass mark.
What is BRC Global Standard certification, and how is it different?
The BRC Global Standard for Food Safety — now branded BRCGS — originated with the British Retail Consortium in 1996 and has become one of the most widely adopted GFSI-benchmarked schemes, with BRCGS reporting on its own site that more than 22,000 sites across over 130 countries hold certification to the standard.
The current version, Issue 9, took effect for audits from February 2023 onward. According to an implementation guide reported by ASC Food Safety, Issue 9 is built around 8 fundamental clauses — provisions where any non-conformance blocks certification outright — alongside full HACCP, prerequisite programs, traceability, and food safety culture requirements.
Where BRCGS diverges most visibly from IFS is grading. According to a BRCGS audit guide reported by Document Compliance, grades run from AA down to D based on the number and severity of non-conformities found: an AA grade allows no more than 5 minor non-conformities, while a single critical non-conformity, or a major non-conformity against a fundamental clause, results in failure regardless of how clean the rest of the audit was. A “+” is appended to the grade for unannounced audits, signaling that the site was inspected without advance warning — the same source notes this distinction matters to buyers who require ongoing compliance evidence, not just a scheduled-visit result.
IFS vs. BRC: the practical differences for a distributor
Both certifications are GFSI-benchmarked, both require third-party accredited audits, and both apply specifically to processing and packing sites rather than to trading companies with no physical production. Beyond that, the differences that actually matter to a distributor come down to three things:
Origin and regional preference. IFS is the standard most requested by continental European retailers, while BRCGS is required by virtually every major UK retailer for own-brand and high-risk supplier listings, according to the same ASC Food Safety guide. A supplier holding only one of the two may be well-covered for one region and under-prepared for another.
Grading systems aren’t directly comparable. IFS uses a percentage-score letter grade (A/B/C/D, plus Higher Level above 95%). BRCGS uses a non-conformity count (AA/A/B/C/D, plus a “+” for unannounced audits). A distributor comparing two suppliers’ certificates side by side should ask what the grade actually means in each system rather than assuming a “B” in one scheme is equivalent to a “B” in the other.
Neither certification alone guarantees market access. Both are food-safety and quality management certifications — they are not the same thing as country-specific export registration. A supplier can hold a spotless IFS or BRCGS certificate and still be unable to legally ship to a given country if it hasn’t completed that country’s separate import registration process.
Why certification grade affects which contracts a supplier can win
Grade isn’t just a badge — it determines which buyers a supplier is eligible to sell to at all. Retailers and large buyers frequently set a minimum acceptable grade as a condition of listing, not merely a preference. Some category-leading UK retailers such as Marks & Spencer and Waitrose are known to prefer AA-grade BRCGS suppliers specifically for their private-label ranges, while other buyers may accept a Grade B supplier for general approval but require Grade A or AA before allowing private-label production.
That distinction matters for a distributor two ways. First, a supplier’s grade is a signal of how much risk-tolerance margin exists in their operation: a Grade AA supplier with 5 or fewer minor non-conformities has far less slack before a compliance issue becomes a certification-threatening problem than a Grade C supplier who is already close to the non-conformity ceiling for their tier. Second, if a distributor’s own downstream customers (large retailers, foodservice chains) have their own minimum-grade requirements, the distributor needs to know the supplier’s actual grade — not just that a certification exists — to avoid promising a retail customer a supply chain that doesn’t actually meet the retailer’s own certification floor.
IFS Food vs. BRC Global Standard at a glance
| IFS Food | BRC Global Standard (BRCGS) | |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | German and French retail federations | British Retail Consortium (UK) |
| Current version | IFS Food Version 8 (April 2023) | Issue 9 (audits since February 2023) |
| Grading scale | Percentage score: A / B / C / D, plus Higher Level (95%+) | Non-conformity count: AA / A / B / C / D, “+” for unannounced audits |
| Strongest regional requirement | Continental European retailers | Virtually all major UK retailers |
| GFSI-recognized | Yes | Yes (first food safety scheme GFSI-benchmarked, in 2000) |
| Covers quality alongside safety | Yes, in a single combined audit | Yes, alongside food safety culture requirements |
Why this connects directly to China market access
That last point is where certification and market access actually intersect, and it’s worth being specific about it. China’s General Administration of Customs (GACC) requires any overseas meat facility to register through its CIFER system before its products can legally enter the country. According to a 2026 GACC compliance guide reported by PSR Compliance, having a HACCP-based food safety system is essential for GACC approval, and required documents for registration include HACCP or GMP certificates, production flow charts, and testing reports.
This means IFS Food and BRC Global Standard certification aren’t a separate box a supplier checks alongside GACC registration — they’re the foundation GACC registration is built on, since both certifications require the same HACCP-based food safety management system China’s customs authority is asking to see evidence of. A supplier that already holds IFS or BRCGS certification has effectively pre-built much of what GACC registration requires; a supplier with neither is starting that documentation from scratch. According to a 2026 export guide reported by OriginTrace, the core GACC documentation package for most food processing enterprises includes food safety management system documentation such as a HACCP plan or prerequisite programs, alongside facility layout plans and evidence of regulatory oversight by the exporter’s home-country competent authority.
What to actually ask a supplier
Given the differences above, a distributor evaluating a pork exporter’s certifications should ask for specifics rather than accepting “we’re certified” as a complete answer:
- Which certification does the supplier hold — IFS Food, BRC Global Standard, both, or neither?
- What grade or score did the most recent audit result in, and does the supplier understand what that grade means in its own scheme?
- Was the most recent audit announced or unannounced (relevant specifically for BRCGS, where a “+” indicates unannounced participation)?
- Does the supplier’s certification cover the specific product category being ordered, or only part of the site’s operations?
- Separately from either certification, is the facility registered with GACC (or the equivalent authority for any other target market) under its own registration number?
A supplier that answers all five specifically, with document numbers, is verifiably further along than one who answers in general terms.
How to verify a certificate is genuine, not just claimed
A logo on a website or a PDF sent by email isn’t verification — both are trivially easy to fabricate or reuse after a certificate has lapsed. Both IFS and BRCGS maintain their own public or semi-public verification systems: IFS certified companies are listed in the IFS Database, and BRCGS-certified sites can be checked through BRCGS’s own directory using the certificate number and issuing certification body. A distributor should ask for the certificate number and issuing certification body directly, then check it against the scheme’s own database rather than relying on a document the supplier provides — a genuine certificate holder will not hesitate to point a distributor toward that independent check.
What this looks like in practice
La Comarca Meats holds both IFS Food and BRC Global Standard certification, alongside a dedicated production line registered for export to the Asian market, including China. The company’s quality and food safety policy documents the certifications directly, and the full production chain — from genetics and breeding through slaughter, cutting, and freezing — is controlled in-house rather than outsourced, which is what makes full HACCP-based traceability possible in the first place.
Distributors evaluating supplier certifications can contact us to request certificate numbers, audit grades, and GACC registration details directly, or review the full product range of fresh, frozen, and cured pork available for wholesale distribution.
Frequently asked questions
Is IFS Food or BRC Global Standard certification better for a pork exporter?
Neither is universally “better” — IFS is more commonly requested by continental European retailers, while BRCGS is close to mandatory for UK retail listings. Some suppliers hold both to cover both markets.
Does IFS or BRC certification guarantee a supplier can export to China?
No. Both are food-safety and quality certifications, not export registrations. A supplier also needs separate GACC/CIFER registration to legally export meat to China, though the HACCP system both certifications require overlaps significantly with GACC’s own documentation requirements.
What does a BRCGS “AA” grade actually mean?
An AA grade means the most recent audit found no more than 5 minor non-conformities and no major or critical non-conformities against the standard’s fundamental clauses — the highest grade on BRCGS’s five-tier scale (AA, A, B, C, D).
How often are these certifications audited?
Both IFS Food and BRC Global Standard require annual third-party audits to maintain certification, with BRCGS additionally offering an unannounced-audit option (denoted by a “+” on the grade) for suppliers who want to demonstrate ongoing compliance rather than only passing a scheduled visit.
