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Updated 16/04/2007
BRC Global Standard – Consumer Products issue 2
Product Group Decision tree
Product Group Determination
Product group 1: Products with specific legal and hygiene requirements and/or the potential to
cause serious injury or death if they fail during normal use.
Product group 2: Products with specific legal requirements and/or the potential to cause serious
injury or death if they fail during normal use.
Product group 3: Products that have some product specific legal requirements and may cause
slight injury if it fails in normal use.
Product group 4: Very low risk products that have no product specific legal requirements.
The product group by which the manufacturer or assembly packer is evaluated is determined by using
the appropriate Product Group Decision Tree.
The company must determine whether they are a manufacturer or assembly packer by referring to the
definitions in the glossary prior to using the decision tree to determine the product group. The
Company seeking certification must still determine the product group using the appropriate Product
Group Decision Tree.
When the Company has determined the product group, it is recommended that this is verified with
their retail customers.
If there is no retail customer and the company has determined the product group, this needs to be
verified and agreed by the Certification Body who will carry out the evaluation. If the company has a
retail customer, it is recommended that the product group also be verified with the customer before
the evaluation takes place.
If a manufacturer is in doubt that the retailer will accept the determined product group, they have the
option to be evaluated at a higher risk level.
Guidelines for the use of the Product group decision tree for the manufacture of
Consumer Products
The purpose of the decision tree is to enable the user to determine the product group of any product
in the scope of the Standard. It is important to note that the level of the