Watson Inc., West Haven, CT, has passed its BRC certification and earned the coveted “AA” rating. This was Watson’s fifth BRC audit. The company has been able to consistently achieve an “A” rating since its first audit in 2012, exemplifying the company’s commitment to quality initiatives. Since the company’s last audit in 2015, a new grade level was introduced by BRC in issue 7, along with redistribution of grading criteria for certification. Only those sites acquiring 5 or fewer minor non-conformances may now achieve the top grade of AA.

Undergoing this audit was central to Watson’s quality incentives and customer focus programs. The audit took place on the first week of May 2016 in the West Haven, CT facilities.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) is the leading trade association for U.K. retailing. Although the BRC food safety standard began in the U.K., it is now recognized as a global standard.

The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) is a project led by the business forum CIES, intended to harmonize international food safety standards and reduce the need for multiple supplier audits. The CIES members include leading retailer organizations and food manufacturers.

The BRC was the first standard to be recognized as meeting the GFSI benchmark. Benchmarking to GFSI ensures that the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety is accepted by many of the world’s largest retail interests. The BRC’s ability to react to changing food-safety concerns and meet customer requirements has resulted in the BRC Standard becoming one of the most popular GFSI standards. Watson’s BRC certification is available for viewing on the company website.