A snack manufacturer in Epping closed its audit with one major and fourteen minors and told the board it had passed, because nothing on the report said otherwise. Six weeks later the grade came back as a C, the certification body booked the next audit for six months rather than twelve, and a national retailer asked for a written improvement plan before the next order. Nobody at the site could explain how fifteen findings had become a C. BRCGS grades are pure arithmetic until a fundamental is involved, and once you can do the arithmetic you can predict your grade before the auditor says it out loud.
In short
- Issue 9 has three non-conformity levels: critical, major and minor. The level is set by the effect on product safety and legality, not by how annoyed the auditor is.
- Announced grades are AA, A, B, C and D. The same grades with a plus (AA+, A+, B+, C+, D+) are awarded for unannounced audits.
- AA is 5 or fewer minors, A is 6 to 10, B is 11 to 16 or one major, C is 17 to 24, and D is 25 to 30. Any critical, 31 or more minors, or three or more majors means no certificate.
- A major against any one of the twelve fundamentals means certification is not granted at that audit, whatever the arithmetic gives.
- Corrective action evidence goes to the certification body within 28 calendar days. A grade D also requires a revisit within 28 days.
- Grade drives frequency: 12 months for AA, A and B, 6 months for C and D, so a C doubles your audit cost. Every site has one unannounced audit in every three years.
- The certificate is issued within 42 calendar days of the certification decision and the status appears on the BRCGS Directory, where customers check it.
The three non-conformity levels, and how an auditor decides between them
Every finding is graded at one of three levels, and the level, not the number of words in the finding, drives everything that follows.
- Critical: a critical failure against food safety or a legal requirement. Product that is unsafe or illegal, or a control that has failed in a way that puts consumers at risk.
- Major: a substantial failure to meet the statement of intent or a clause, or a situation that on objective evidence raises significant doubt about the conformity of the product being made. A system that exists on paper but is not operating usually lands here.
- Minor: the clause has not been fully met, but on the evidence available the conformity of the product is not in doubt. A gap in a record, one uncalibrated gauge, one out-of-date specification.
Auditors separate major from minor with three questions. Is this a single lapse or the failure of the whole system, so that one missing cleaning record is a minor but an unsigned cleaning schedule across three months is a major. Does the evidence cast doubt on product already dispatched, which moves a finding up. And is the clause a statement of intent, because failing the intent of a section rather than a detail of it is by definition substantial. If the levels and the audit process are new to you, the introduction to BRCGS for Food Safety Issue 9 course sets them out before the detail. Ask which of the three applies while the auditor is still on site, because the level is what costs you money, not the wording.
The full BRCGS Issue 9 grading table
The grade is calculated from the number and level of non-conformities raised at the audit. Nothing else changes it: not the size of the site, not how quickly you fix things, not how well the audit felt.
| Grade | Non-conformities at the audit | Unannounced | Action required | Next audit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AA | 5 or fewer minors | AA+ | Corrective action evidence within 28 calendar days | 12 months |
| A | 6 to 10 minors | A+ | Corrective action evidence within 28 calendar days | 12 months |
| B | 11 to 16 minors, or one major with 10 or fewer minors | B+ | Corrective action evidence within 28 calendar days | 12 months |
| C | 17 to 24 minors, or one major with 11 to 16 minors, or two majors with 10 or fewer minors | C+ | Corrective action evidence within 28 calendar days | 6 months |
| D | 25 to 30 minors, or one major with 17 to 24 minors, or two majors with 11 to 16 minors | D+ | Corrective action evidence within 28 calendar days and a revisit within 28 days | 6 months |
| Not certificated | Any critical, or 31 or more minors, or one major with 25 or more minors, or two majors with 17 or more minors, or three or more majors | Not certificated | Full re-audit. A critical finding is reviewed independently by the certification body, and a certificated site has its certificate withdrawn | Re-audit, not earlier than 28 days |
Read the C and D rows carefully. A single major does not sink you on its own, but it drags the minor bands down by one grade, so the same 14 minors that would have been a B become a C the moment a major appears alongside them.
Four worked examples: do the arithmetic yourself
Work each one out before reading the answer. The method is always the same: count the majors first, then read the minors across that row.
Example 1. One major and fourteen minors, announced audit. Start with the major. One major puts you in the “one major with” rows. Fourteen minors sits in the band 11 to 16. The grade is C. Without the major, fourteen minors alone would have been a B. The consequence is not only the letter: the next audit is due in six months, not twelve.
Example 2. Two majors and twelve minors, announced audit. Two majors, then twelve minors in the band 11 to 16, gives D. That is the worst certificated grade. Evidence of corrective action is due within 28 calendar days and the certification body must revisit the site within 28 days. The next full audit is six months away, so in one year the site pays for two full audits plus a revisit.
Example 3. Twenty-seven minors, no majors, unannounced audit. No majors, so read the minor bands alone: 25 to 30 minors is a D, and because the audit was unannounced the grade is D+. The plus is not a bonus. It records that the site was audited without notice, and it carries the same revisit within 28 days and the same six-month frequency as a D.
Example 4. One major against clause 3.9 traceability, and four minors. The arithmetic says one major with 10 or fewer minors, which is a B. The arithmetic does not apply. Traceability is one of the twelve fundamentals, and a major against a fundamental means certification is not granted at that audit. A new site does not get a certificate and needs a full re-audit. A certificated site does not get its certificate reissued. This is why the fundamentals are worth more attention in preparation than the other three hundred clauses combined, and why they shape the whole BRCGS Issue 9 implementation plan.
The 28 calendar day rule, and what counts as objective evidence
Every non-conformity has to be addressed and evidence submitted to the certification body within 28 calendar days of the audit. Calendar, not working: a December audit runs its clock through the shutdown. No certificate is issued until the majors and minors have been addressed, either permanently or through a temporary solution the certification body accepts.
Close-out happens in one of three ways: documentary evidence sent to the certification body, remote assessment of that evidence, or a further visit to the site. Objective evidence means something an auditor can verify without taking your word for it.
- A root cause analysis that names the system failure, not “operator error”.
- The corrected document, with its revision number, date and approval visible.
- Completed records showing the corrected practice actually running, ideally more than one instance.
- Dated photographs of physical corrections, with something in frame that identifies the location.
- Training or briefing records, signed, where the cause was a competence gap.
- Purchase orders, work orders or contractor reports where the fix needed money or a part.
A promise, a policy update alone or a photograph with no date closes nothing. The findings from this audit are also checked at the next one to verify that the close-out held, so a corrective action that was cosmetic returns as a repeat finding, and repeat findings are where majors come from.
When a revisit is required
Three situations bring the auditor back rather than closing the audit on paper. A grade D requires a revisit within 28 days, over and above the corrective action evidence. A critical non-conformity, or any result that falls into the not-certificated band, requires a full re-audit, which cannot take place earlier than 28 calendar days from the audit date, and a site that already held a certificate has it withdrawn immediately. And where the certification body cannot satisfy itself from documents alone, it may choose a further on-site visit to verify close-out.
A scope extension also brings a revisit where the change is significant, and that revisit is announced regardless of which programme the site is on. The new certificate keeps the expiry date of the original one, so an extension does not buy extra time.
How the grade drives audit frequency, and therefore cost
This is the part that reaches the finance director. The grade sets how often the certification body audits you, and audit frequency is the largest recurring cost in the certification budget.
| Grade | Audit frequency | Direct cost effect over three years |
|---|---|---|
| AA, A or B | 12 months | Three audits, plus one unannounced audit falling within the three-year period rather than in addition to it. |
| C | 6 months | Six audits instead of three. Auditor days, travel and site preparation time all double. |
| D | 6 months | Six audits plus a revisit within 28 days of each D, plus the management time to prepare twice a year. |
| Not certificated | Full re-audit before certification | The full audit fee again, no certificate in the meantime, and any business that depends on the certificate is at risk from the day it lapses. |
In South Africa the cost is not only the audit fee. Approved auditor days are in short supply outside Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape, so a site in the Eastern Cape, Limpopo or the Northern Cape pays travel and accommodation on top, and a six-month cycle means paying it twice a year. Add the internal cost that nobody budgets: two weeks of a quality team preparing, a day of the plant effectively on show, and the corrective action work compressed into 28 days. A C grade is rarely just a letter on a certificate.
The plus suffix, and the unannounced programme
A grade with a plus after it means the audit was unannounced. AA+ through D+ are exactly the same thresholds as AA through D; the suffix simply records that nobody at the site knew the auditor was coming. Customers read it that way too, which is why some sites choose the unannounced programme deliberately.
Three programmes exist. The announced programme gives you a date. The unannounced programme does not, and the site must let the auditor begin as soon as they arrive, after a short opening meeting. The blended announced programme splits the work into a remote assessment of documented systems and an on-site assessment of the facility, and it is offered at the certification body’s discretion following a risk assessment.
Whatever you choose, every certificated site must have at least one unannounced audit in every three years. That is a GFSI benchmarking requirement, not an option. Your certification body tells you which year it falls in, so you know the year but not the day, and a site that relies on a fortnight of tidying before each audit will eventually be caught mid-year with its ordinary housekeeping on display.
The 42 calendar day certificate period and the BRCGS Directory
Once the evidence has been reviewed and the certification decision made, the certificate is issued within 42 calendar days of that decision. The certificate remains the property of the certification body. Each certificated site is allocated a site code of six to eight digits that never changes, even if the site later moves to a different certification body, and the certification status appears on the BRCGS Directory.
The Directory matters commercially because it is where your customers look. A buyer who wants to know whether a supplier is certificated, to what scope and at what grade does not ask the supplier, they look it up. If you disagree with the decision, you can appeal within 7 calendar days of receiving it, and the appeal must be finalised within 30 calendar days. Certification bodies also have to be told about anything that affects your certification, such as a change of ownership, a serious incident or a recall.
What retailers and customers in South Africa actually do with your grade
A grade is a procurement input, not a trophy. In practice it does four things.
- It sets whether you can be listed at all. Major South African retailers and export buyers expect a GFSI-benchmarked certificate as a condition of supply, and many supplier standards name a minimum acceptable grade, commonly B or better.
- It changes how closely you are watched. A C or D usually triggers a supplier review, a written improvement plan, or a second-party audit by the customer on top of the BRCGS audit you have just paid for.
- It follows you into tenders. Grade and scope are visible on the Directory, so a competitor holding an AA is comparing certificates with you before the buyer even calls.
- It affects new business more than existing business. Existing customers tend to work through a C with you. New ones simply choose someone else, because nobody has to justify a supplier with a better grade.
None of this replaces South African law. A certificate does not exempt a site from the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act 54 of 1972 or from regulation R638, and potable water still has to meet SANS 241 whatever your grade says. Certification demonstrates a managed system to your customers; the legal baseline is separate and enforced by the local authority.
How a site moves from a C to an A
Sites that jump a grade rarely do it by working harder on the same things. They do it by changing what produces the findings in the first place.
- Cluster the non-conformities before you fix any of them. Seventeen minors are seldom seventeen problems. They are usually three or four system failures showing up in different places: records not completed at the time of the activity, cleaning not verified, training not evidenced, specifications out of date.
- Fix the system, not the instance. Replacing one missing record closes a finding. Changing who checks the record, when, and what happens when it is blank closes the cluster.
- Make your internal audits harder than the certification audit. If your own programme is finding more than the auditor does, the grade takes care of itself. A programme that found nothing last year is the reason the auditor found seventeen.
- Protect the twelve fundamentals absolutely. Evidence for each of them, filed and current, every month. One major against a fundamental removes the certificate regardless of everything else you have done.
- Use the six-month cycle as two chances, not one punishment. A C gives you a second audit within the year, and sites that treat the interim period as a working programme rather than a delay routinely come back at A. The clause-by-clause build behind that is the subject of the BRCGS Issue 9 implementation course.
The move from C to A usually takes one full audit cycle and costs less than the extra audits a C grade buys you. That is the case worth making to your board.
Common questions
What do the BRCGS audit grades AA, A, B, C and D mean?
They record how many non-conformities were raised at the audit. AA is 5 or fewer minors, A is 6 to 10, B is 11 to 16 or one major with 10 or fewer minors, C is 17 to 24 or one major with 11 to 16, and D is 25 to 30 or one major with 17 to 24. Any critical, 31 or more minors or three or more majors means no certificate.
What does the plus mean in BRCGS grades such as A+ or B+?
The plus records that the audit was unannounced. The thresholds are identical to the announced grades, so AA+ is still 5 or fewer minors. Customers read a plus as evidence that the site was assessed without notice. Every certificated site must have at least one unannounced audit in every three years, whichever programme it is on.
How many minors move a BRCGS grade from A to B?
Eleven. Six to 10 minors is an A, and 11 minors takes you into the B band, which runs to 16. One major shifts the bands down a grade, so one major with 10 or fewer minors is also a B, and one major with 11 to 16 minors is a C. Count the majors before you count the minors.
How long do we have to close out BRCGS non-conformities?
Evidence of corrective action must reach the certification body within 28 calendar days of the audit, and no certificate is issued until the majors and minors are addressed permanently or by a temporary solution the certification body accepts. A grade D also requires a revisit within 28 days. Close-out is verified again at the next audit.
What happens if a site gets a D grade?
A D is certificated but on the tightest terms. Corrective action evidence is due within 28 calendar days, the certification body revisits within 28 days, and the next full audit falls six months later rather than twelve. Customers generally treat a D as a trigger for a supplier review or an improvement plan before further orders.
How long does a BRCGS certificate take to be issued?
The certificate is issued within 42 calendar days of the certification decision, which follows the review of your corrective action evidence. The certificate remains the property of the certification body, and your certification status, scope and grade appear on the BRCGS Directory under a site code that stays with you even if you change certification body.
Can a major non-conformity stop certification even with a good score?
Yes. A major against any of the twelve fundamental requirements means certification is not granted at that audit, whatever the arithmetic gives. One major against traceability with only four minors would otherwise be a B, but no certificate is issued and a full re-audit is needed. The fundamentals are 1.1, 2, 3.4, 3.5.1, 3.7, 3.9, 4.3, 4.11, 5.3, 6.1, 6.2 and 7.1.
Next step. If you are preparing a site for audit or working back from a C, the Implementation of BRCGS Issue 9 for Food Manufacturing course covers the evidence behind each of the twelve fundamentals and the records that keep minors off the report. If you need the Standard, the grading system and the audit process explained from the beginning, start with the Introduction to BRCGS for Food Safety Issue 9 course. Both appear on the ASC courses page.
This article is general guidance written for South African food manufacturers. It is not a substitute for the Standard: a site is audited against the Global Standard Food Safety (Issue 9) together with the position statements in force, and both the site and the auditor need an official copy. Clause numbers are given so you can navigate your own copy.