Certification Readiness

Accreditation Support: SALSA, BRC & GFSI

Preparing for a SALSA, BRC or GFSI-recognised certification audit? We assess the gap between where you are and what the scheme requires, then give you a prioritised plan to close it.

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Signs you need accreditation support

  • You're applying for SALSA, or renewing, and want to know if you'll pass first time
  • A retailer or wholesaler has asked you to hold BRC or another GFSI-recognised standard
  • Your HACCP plan was written generically, not against a specific scheme's audit criteria
  • A previous audit left non-conformances you're not confident are fully closed
  • Nobody in the business has been through a certification audit before

What the gap assessment covers

The six areas certification auditors check

1

Documentation & HACCP alignment

Your food safety management system and HACCP plan checked against your target scheme's specific requirements, not just general good practice.

2

Site & process controls

Layout, workflow, allergen segregation and process controls assessed the way an auditor will assess them.

3

Supplier approval & traceability

Whether your supplier approval records and traceability system (one step back, one step forward) would hold up under a mock traceability exercise.

4

Corrective action history

Past non-conformances and whether they were closed out properly, a common source of repeat findings.

5

Staff training records

Training matrix, certificates and role-specific competency evidence, kept current and ready to show.

6

Internal audit programme

Whether you have a working internal audit schedule, a requirement of most GFSI-recognised schemes in its own right.

We check your operation against each of these areas and your target scheme's published requirements, then produce a written, prioritised gap report, not a generic checklist.

Gap assessment vs full certification support

Gap Assessment

Price

from £750

Scope

Checks your current operation against your target scheme and produces a prioritised action plan

Timescale

1-2 weeks

Best for

Businesses who want to know exactly where they stand before booking an audit

Full Certification Support

Price

Quoted separately

Scope

Closing the gaps found, documentation build-out, mock audit and readiness support

Timescale

Varies by scheme and starting point

Best for

Businesses with significant gaps to close before their audit date

Accreditation Support FAQs

Which accreditation schemes do you support?+

SALSA (Safe and Local Supplier Approval), BRCGS Global Standards, and other GFSI-recognised schemes. We assess your operation against your chosen scheme's published requirements and tell you plainly where the gaps are.

Do you carry out the certification audit, or issue the certificate?+

No. Certification audits are carried out by the scheme's own accredited certification bodies, and only they can issue your certificate. Our gap assessment prepares you for that audit, it doesn't replace it.

How is this different from a HACCP Plan Review?+

A HACCP Plan Review (£250) checks your HACCP documentation against the 7 HACCP principles alone. Accreditation support checks your wider system, documentation, supplier approval, traceability, corrective actions and training records, against a specific certification scheme's full audit criteria.

What happens after the gap assessment?+

You get a written, prioritised action plan. Some businesses close the gaps themselves from that plan; others ask us to support full certification readiness, quoted separately once we know the scope of what's needed.

How long does a gap assessment take?+

Typically 1-2 weeks for a single site, depending on how much existing documentation there is to review.

Know where you stand before you book your audit

Get an Accreditation Gap Assessment

from £750, Gap assessment · full support quoted separately.