Overview of the most common certifications and standards in brief

Tesco NURTURE

Natural products for the British market

Do you import fresh fruit or vegetables into the UK? If so, opt for certification according to Tesco NURTURE – Nature’s Choice – your entry requirement for supplying the British supermarket chain Tesco. This standard identifies you as a producer and supplier of agricultural products that come from environmentally friendly, responsible and sustainable cultivation.

An overview of the requirements

The criteria for Tesco NURTURE certification are summarized in a guide, the so-called “Code of Practice”. Among other things, it lists these points:

• Use of pesticides
• Use of fertilizers
• Avoiding harmful effects on the environment
• Protecting health
• Efficient use of energy, water and other natural resources
• Recycling of materials
• Preservation of the natural environment at the production site

ZNU – Sustainable Business Practices Food

The ZNU Standard for Sustainable Business Practices

The ZNU standard was developed by the ZNU Center for Sustainable Leadership for manufacturing companies in the food industry. The standard certifies sustainability in companies by requiring the development of an integrated management system for sustainable management. It fills the gap between forward-looking sustainability requirements and proven food standards, as it combines the requirements at the company and product level in a location-specific manner.

The standard for the food industry

The ZNU standard is used in the food industry to exchange information more efficiently with relevant interest groups, particularly at the interface with retail. The standard also helps you to structure, develop and credibly communicate your sustainability activities. The ZNU standard both requires and promotes the development of a management system. This makes sustainability measurable, realizable and verifiable for external parties.

BRC Global Standard

Food Safety in Retail

Developed by the British Retail Consortium, the BRC Global Standard formulates clearly defined requirements for food safety. These include the implementation of the HACCP standard, a documented QM system and the control of hygiene conditions. Almost all retailers in the UK require their suppliers to be BRC certified

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FSSC 22000

Certification for safe food

With FSSC 22000 certification – the certification procedure recognized by the international Global Food Safety Initiative, or GFSI for short – you can increase food safety along your manufacturing and supply chain, even in globally networked production processes. Companies of all sizes that produce or process animal or plant products, products with a long shelf life or food ingredients also have the option of worldwide certification.

GMP

Good Manufacturing Practice in feed production

Companies with trade relations to the Dutch feed industry have been familiar with the Good Manufacturing Practice System, GMP+ for short, since the early 1990s. Due to its high efficiency, it has also become established outside the Netherlands. GMP+ inspects the entire feed chain of meat production – from raw material producers to transport companies and livestock farmers.

Global GAP

Good Agricultural Practice

Food safety, occupational safety, environmental protection and animal welfare – large retail chains often expect GlobalGAP certification from their agricultural suppliers. Global Good Agricultural Practices is an international quality standard for products from agriculture, horticulture or aquaculture. GlobalGAP’s sphere of influence is limited to your farm. Once a product has left your farm, it must be controlled by other quality assurance and certification programs.

Objectives of the GlobalGAP standard

GlobalGAP, formerly EurepGAP, began in 1997 as a retailer initiative belonging to the EuroRetailer Produce Working Group, or Eurep for short. The aim was to

develop agricultural standards and procedures for the international certification of Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) and to restore consumer confidence in

safe food. At the same time, the aim was to facilitate global trade. Today, the GlobalGAP guidelines take into account requirements for food safety, occupational safety, environmental protection and animal welfare, as well as integrated cultivation, pesticides, residue monitoring and hygiene. GlobalGAP is in the process of integrating, harmonizing and making transparent all existing

agricultural standards of its kind worldwide. Similar to IFS and BRC, the standard was initiated by the food retail industry. There are now separate certifications for fruit and vegetables, threshed and root crops, and livestock.

HACCP

Hygienic safety for food and consumers

Does your company work in the food or pharmaceutical industry or produce cosmetics? Are you a supplier to these industries, a mechanical engineer or a manufacturer of cleaning agents? By implementing the HACCP concept, you can demonstrate that hygiene and food safety are your top priorities. HACCP, the “Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points” concept, helps you to identify risks in advance and avoid them during food production.

The seven principles of the HACCP concept

1. Analysis of food risks: biological, chemical, physical
2. Identification of critical factors: raw materials, storage, processing, distribution and consumers
3. Definition of control limits and preventive measurements
4. Checking critical points using a monitoring system
5. Development of corrective measures
6. Development of additional monitoring processes to ensure the effectiveness of the HACCP system
7. Documentation of all processes

ISO 22000

Comprehensive quality assurance from the producer to the consumer

ISO 22000 is based on the content and structure of the requirements of a quality management system according to ISO 9001 :2000 and is consistent with the HACCP principles.

Overview of the ISO 22000 requirements

• Interactive communication along the supply chain
• Compliance with HACCP guidelines: hazard analysis, identification of critical control points (called CCPs and interfaces), monitoring of CCPs, development of corrective measures, archiving, verification
• Harmonization of existing voluntary and/or mandatory standards
• Development of a structure based on ISO 9001
• System management
• Process control

QA inspection system

Quality and Safety for Food

The OS inspection system of Qualität und Sicherheit GmbH for food quality is one of the leading control systems for fish and meat products, fruit, vegetables and animal feed. It monitors quality at all stages of production, from manufacturing to processing and retail. Quality assurance is therefore “cross-stage”. As a voluntary initiative of all economic levels involved, QS is the alliance for tested quality assurance at all levels of food production. Tested by experts. Valued by consumers. The following applies to meat and meat products, fruit, vegetables and potatoes: Only food whose production has been accompanied by the OS system may bear the OS certification mark. This transparency is appreciated by consumers who are rightly interested in the life cycle of their food. Each company involved in the production process is regularly audited for compliance with the OS criteria for production, transport, storage and hygiene.

A good deal of reliability!

International Featured Standards – IFS Food

Food safety from the manufacturer to the retailer

The International Food Standard, or IFS for short, was developed in 2003 by the HDE, the German Retail Association, for the private labels of German and French retail companies. It ensures seamless quality along the entire production chain of the food industry. The IFS is based on ISO 9001 :2000. The standard integrates the requirements of food law, the principles of good manufacturing practice and the HACCP risk analysis into quality management. In addition, it also regulates the handling of allergens and genetically modified organisms, or GMOs for short, in accordance with current EU legislation.

Internationally recognized

The IFS is recognized by the GFSI, the Global Food Safety Initiative, and is considered the most important safety standard for food quality alongside the BRC.

Pest monitoring/pest control

• The company has a pest control system that complies with local legal requirements. It takes into account at least:

1. 1. the operational environment (possible pests),
   2. the site plan with places of use (bait plan),
   3. bait identification on site,
   4. internal/external responsibilities,
   5. the agents used and their application/safety instructions, and
   6. inspection intervals. The pest control system is based on a hazard analysis and an assessment of the associated risks.

• The company has suitably qualified personnel and/or uses a qualified external service provider. If such a service provider is contracted, the necessary on-site activities are regulated in a written contract.
• The inspections and the resulting pest control measures are documented. The implementation of the measures is monitored and recorded.
• A sufficient number of baits, traps and insect exterminators are available and correctly installed in suitable locations. They are designed and constructed in such a way that they do not pose a risk of contamination.
• Deliveries are checked for the presence of pests at goods receipt. Any infestation is documented and measures are initiated.
• The effectiveness of pest control is verified by means of regular trend analyses.