Over 70% of top global retailers and 60% of major QSR chains require BRCGS certification. Passing isn’t optional, it’s table stakes. But the real difference isn’t between certified and uncertified plants. It’s between facilities that scramble for audits and those that run audit-ready every day.

These 6 essential practices for audit readiness work because they reflect how real plants run, and they’re the difference between facilities that scramble through audits and those that prove audit readiness on every shift, not just when QA is in the building.

1. Start Your Gap Assessment Early (4-6 Months Out)

The Practice: Conduct a clause-by-clause review involving QA, sanitation, maintenance, and production leads. Don't just check documentation, actually walk the floor. Find the rusting overhead pipe before the auditor does.

Why It Works: Most plants aren't failing audits due to safety gaps; they're failing due to disorganized, reactive systems. Early gap assessments give you time to fix systemic issues, not just patch problems.

Action Steps:

Use internal team members with deep knowledge of BRCGS or other third-party assessments
Review every clause against actual floor conditions
Create a prioritized action plan with realistic timelines
Schedule follow-up assessments to verify corrections

2. Organize Documentation by Clause, Not Department

The Practice: If an auditor asks for "4.11.1 cleaning procedures," anyone should be able to find it in under 2 minutes. Keep temperature logs, cleaning records, and training documentation current and reflecting daily activities, not month-end catch-up.

Why It Works: BRCGS auditors expect to be on the floor within 30 minutes. Your entire team, not just QA, must be able to find and show documentation on demand. Plants that earn AA+ scores don’t bet everything on one QA lead. Instead, they design systems anyone can run.

Action Steps:

Reorganize all documentation using BRCGS clause numbering
Train multiple team members on document locations
Implement real-time record keeping, not batch updates
Test retrieval speed with mock exercises

3. Perfect Your 4-Hour Traceability

The Practice: Practice traceability drills quarterly under pressure. The 4-hour requirement isn't theoretical, and your team needs to execute it flawlessly during the audit. Test from raw materials to finished products and back again.

Why It Works: Traceability failures create major non-conformities that can derail certification. Regular practice builds confidence and reveals system gaps before auditors find them.

Action Steps:

Select random products for quarterly traceability tests
Time the entire process and document bottlenecks
Include lot codes, supplier information, and distribution records
Cross-train multiple employees on traceability procedures

4. Cross-Train Everyone on Clause Ownership

The Practice: QA can't be the only department that knows BRCGS. Frontline leaders should know: Who owns clause 1.1.2? Who logs training under 7.1.2? Who signs off on foreign material checks under 4.10.3? Everyone on shift should know their clause, where records live, and how to show proof.

Why It Works: Unannounced audits mean your QA manager might not be available. Operations must run independently with full BRCGS compliance across all shifts.

Action Steps:

Assign specific clauses to department leads
Create simple reference guides for each role
Conduct monthly clause-specific training sessions
Test knowledge through surprise drills

5. Fix Root Causes, Not Just Symptoms

The Practice: When internal audits find issues, document the root cause, update SOPs, retrain staff, and keep sign-offs. If you missed a pre-op verification, don't just start doing the check — figure out why it was missed (training gap? unclear procedure?) and prevent it systematically.

Why It Works: Auditors want to see problem-solving systems, like CAPA and root cause analysis, not just fixes. Systematic improvements demonstrate systemic prevention that separates high-performers from reactive facilities.

Action Steps:

Implement formal root cause analysis for all non-conformities
Update procedures based on findings, not just add checks
Document training and verification of corrective actions
Track trends to prevent recurring issues

6. Stress Test Your Food Defense Plan

The Practice: Pick one day per quarter to simulate threats: an unknown vehicle at receiving, an unsecured chemical cabinet, or a tailgating visitor. Document how your team responds and review the results.

Why It Works: Food defense plans that exist only on paper create significant audit risks. Real scenarios test whether your team can execute under pressure and identify training gaps.

Action Steps:

Create realistic threat scenarios relevant to your facility
Involve multiple shifts and departments in simulations
Document response times and decision-making processes
Use results to refine procedures and training programs

The Reality Check

With BRCGS 9's unannounced audits and customer standards stacking on top, teams can't rely on binders and spreadsheets anymore. These practices work because they reflect how high-performing facilities actually operate by developing systems that flex and scale rather than break under audit pressure.

The facilities that achieve AA+ scores like Joyce Farms don't just pass audits; they use BRCGS as their operational foundation, layering customer and regulatory requirements into the same integrated system. The result? Auditors who can conduct their smoothest, easiest reviews while facilities maintain always-ready operations.

The Bottom Line

BRCGS isn’t just certification. Rather, it’s access to your biggest customers. Clause-level visibility, real-time documentation, and audit-ready operations beat last-minute scrambles every time. Just ask Joyce Farms: with SafetyChain, they went from a B to an AA+ on an unannounced audit, with the auditor calling it “the smoothest audit he’d ever seen.”