News

BRCGS has launched Directory Pro, a new online tool designed to help businesses verify and monitor BRCGS certifications across their supply chains. Directory Pro provides a searchable registry of certificated sites, live status data, and downloadable PDF certificates — giving procurement teams, brand assurance, investigators and laboratories fast access to authenticated certification information to support authenticity and due‑diligence checks.

Key features

• Searchable database of certificated sites with scope and scheme details.
• Live status indicators showing current certification standing and expiry.
• Downloadable, authenticated PDF certificates for record-keeping and supplier validation.
• Filtering and reporting tools to support supplier risk screening and audit planning.

Why this matters for food authenticity; certificate fraud and misrepresentation are common vulnerabilities in complex food supply chains. Directory Pro reduces that risk by providing verified, up‑to‑date certification data from BRCGS. This helps buyers and investigators more quickly identify uncertified or out‑of‑date suppliers, focus sampling and audit resources where risk is greatest, and corroborate supplier claims during authenticity investigations.

Practical considerations

• Directory Pro complements — but does not replace — on‑site audits, laboratory testing and wider supplier assurance measures. Users should continue multi‑layered verification (document checks, audits, testing).
• Coverage depends on the schemes and regions included; users should confirm whether relevant suppliers are listed.
• Check access model (subscription, licence tiers) and data update frequency before integrating into procurement workflows.

Visit the BRCGS Directory Pro page for further information.

The Food Authenticity Network (FAN) is pleased to announce support from the Food Industry Intelligence Network (FIIN), an industry-led consortium which enables a collaborative and targeted approach to supply chain assurance.

Both FAN and FIIN were established in 2015 in response to the recommendations of the ‘Elliott Review’ to respectively, bring together global information on food authenticity testing and to create a ‘safe haven’ for industry members to collect, collate, analyse and disseminate information and intelligence to protect the interests of the consumer.

Helen Sisson, Industry Co-Chair of FIIN said, ‘’On behalf of the FIIN membership we are delighted to commit support for the Food Authenticity Network. One of the FIIN founding objectives is to ‘Help ensure the integrity of food supply chains and protect the interests of the consumer’. In order to support delivery of this objective effective authenticity testing, harnessing advances in analytical testing methodologies and identifying competence and capability in the testing arena is pivotal to FIIN succeeding in its goals. The Food Authenticity Network enhances FIIN with these additional capabilities and therefore our support is a natural extension of the FIIN evolution.’’

Selvarani Elahi MBE, UK Deputy Government Chemist and Executive Director, Food Authenticity Network, said: “I am very happy that FIIN has committed to supporting us as FAN and FIIN share many values and both seek to help secure global food supply chains. FIIN and its 48 food industry Members bring a wealth of invaluable global food industry experience to the Food Authenticity Network, and I definitely think we will be stronger by working together.”

Professor Chris Elliott OBE, Queen’s University Belfast and author of the ‘Elliott Report’¹ said: “I am delighted to see how two concepts that were crafted in the Elliott Review have flourished and become such successes. Both FIIN and FAN are unique initiatives with nothing quite like them elsewhere in the world. The challenges of combating food fraud are set to remain and potentially worsen. This collaboration strengthens our position to be able to better combat food fraud collectively and I am very excited to see what FIIN and FAN can achieve together.”