BRCGS 3.5.1.5 - approval of the manufacturer, packer or consolidator

Hello,

Clause 3.5.1.5 states: Information to enable the approval of the manufacturer, packer or consolidator, as in clauses 3.5.1.1 and
3.5.1.2, shall be obtained from the agent/broker or directly from the supplier, unless the agent/broker is
themselves certificated to a BRC Global Standard (e.g. BRC Global Standard for Agents and Brokers) or a
standard benchmarked by GFSI.

Is a FSSC22000 certificate with the scope: "Wholesale and storage of ambient stable prepacked goods. Category FI"

equivalent to a BRCGS for Agents and Brokers?

Thanks,

OJ

The interpretation guide does mention "wholesaler" with respect to this clause, and FSSC22000 is GFSI benchmarked.
The BRC standard itself (which theoretically is the only bit that is auditable) doesn't explicitly say that the GFSI benchmarked standard has to be equivalent to BRC Agents & Brokers.

The inference would therefore seem to be that yes this should be acceptable - your supply is within the scope of the supplier's certification and that certification seems to be of an appropriate standard.

Nonetheless, if you want a bit more certainty you could also check with your certification body for clarification.