International Certifications
The good quality of the oil…
British Retail Consortium BRC
Specific global standard for the safety of food products
The objective of the BRC certification is to ensure the quality and safety of food products offered to consumers by GDO suppliers and retailers.
The BRC global standard for agri-food safety is one of the operational tools used for due diligence (ie being able to demonstrate that all reasonable measures have been taken to avoid an accident or damage) and to select the suppliers of the agri-food supply chain.
This approach allows to reduce the overall costs of supply chain management and at the same time increase the level of security for customers, suppliers and consumers. Now considered a necessary requirement to operate in the sector, this standard also represents a great opportunity to demonstrate the company’s ongoing commitment to safety, quality and compliance with the rules governing the agri-food sector.
The certification according to the BRC global standard for agri-food safety meets the criteria established by the CIES Global Food Safety Initiative – The Food Business Forum, the international organization in which CEOs and senior executives of almost 400 retailers participate (with almost 200,000 points of sale ) and producers of all sizes.
This is a standard accepted by the majority of food retailers, in the same way as other industry standards such as IFS, SQF and FSCC 22000. The requirements it requires refer to the quality management systems, the HACCP methodology, a set of GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice), GLP (Good Laboratory Practice) and GHP (Good Hygiene Practice) requirements.
International Food Standard IFS
International standard based on a shared assessment method to qualify and select food suppliers
The IFS standard is primarily aimed at large-scale retail distribution as it allows large-scale retailers to ensure the quality and safety of the food products they sell and to control the quality level of the products with their own brand.
Retailers who adopt a shared standard in assessing the quality of their suppliers, significantly reduce the use of third-party analyzes and have a more effective supply chain management, reducing the overall costs of the process and increasing the level of food safety for customers.
Now considered a necessary requirement to operate in the sector, these standards are also an important tool to demonstrate the company’s commitment to safety, quality and compliance with the rules governing the agri-food sector.
The requirements imposed by this standard refer to quality management systems, the HACCP methodology, and a set of requirements GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice), GLP (Good Laboratory Practice) and GHP (Good Hygiene Practice). The goal is to ensure compliance with food quality and safety requirements as well as compliance with the laws governing the sector.
International Organization for Standardization ISO 9001
Outlines the requirements for quality management systems within companies
These are general and flexible rules, applicable to the most varied company processes and sectors.ISO 9001 is the best known and used standard for quality management systems around the world: in fact more than one million companies are now certified according to this standard in 170 different countries.
It is a certificate or as it is called a “brand” whose possession shows that the activities of the company reflect the minimum requirements of the ISO 9001 standard; in this way the end customer can have full confidence in the fact that the services and products placed on the market correspond to specific specifications and that all the phases relating to their realization are repeatable and verifiable.
The adoption of ISO 9001 certification is not mandatory, but its possession is becoming an increasingly indispensable attribute to face the challenges of the market.
ISO 9001 is therefore a regulation aimed at continuous and constant improvement of the company, with the aim of optimizing the organizational structure.
Food and Drug Administration FDA
To export to the US market
US FDA certificates assign a unique registration number to each foreign registered food production establishment. However, the assignment of the FDA registration number does not indicate the approval of the plant or product by the US FDA. This number only indicates that the plant was registered with the US FDA.
To obtain the FDA registration number it is necessary that the food products meet certain requirements. One of these is the label that must comply with the regulation. Food products destined for the US market, in order to get the OK to register, must therefore have labels complying with the FDA.
The labels of the products to be exported to the USA must contain information on:
- Nutritional values
- Ingredients contained
- Possible presence of preservatives, dyes and allergens
Furthermore, certain elements must be present in specific areas of the label. The advertising message (c.d. “claim”) is also subject to the rules imposed by the FDA.
FDA labels must have a pre-established format and the texts included therein must comply with a specific provision.
There are also other obligations to be respected such as the indication of nutritional values by “consumption” and not by weight of the product and the indication of the presence of certain substances such as the type of vitamin and sugars. In this regard, there are some types of vitamins that need not be mentioned, while it is mandatory for others.
Certificazione Kosher
The set of religious rules that govern the nutrition of the Observant Jews
Currently, with the changed daily rhythms that often force meals outside the home, following the complex procedures of food preparation according to the laws would be rather complicated, therefore the need for ready-to-use Kosher certified products was born.
This certification is applicable to a wide variety of products, from cooking ingredients such as olive oil to packaged foods, to dietary products.
It is issued by special Rabbinical associations, which also make use of the collaboration of experts, and is indicated on the product by a special symbol or wording that identifies the certifying Rabbi. However, in order for a product to be Kosher certified, it must meet the most stringent quality standards and that all production and packaging procedures as well as every single ingredient used in its preparation comply with the restrictive laws of Kasheruth.
Compliance with these strict rules and verified periodically, by experts, on the production logo and certification (which has a deadline and must be repeated periodically) can be revoked at any time.
The extreme rigidity of these rules is a protection for the consumer regardless of his religion and, over time, they have made the Kosher certification a quality mark recognized all over the world. In some countries like America, in fact, the biggest consumers of Kosher products are not Jews, but people of any religion who seek in this brand a guarantee of quality, authenticity and purity.
Organic Certification
Organic Agriculture EU (Reg. CE 834/07)
It guarantees the conformity of the productions obtained with organic methods at all stages of the production chain, from the field to the table, in compliance with European Union regulations (Reg. CE 834/07 and CE 889/08).
The organic standards set precise rules also for the preparation of plant and animal products, aimed at limiting the use of additives, flavorings and other non-organic ingredients with mainly sensorial and technological functions. Only the mildest and most directly derived natural additives (citric acid, ascorbic acid, etc.) are allowed, for some of these the use of the organic version is encouraged (eg pectin, lecithin, carob seed flour, etc. .). Nitrites and nitrates are allowed only for cured meats and other meat-based products, with strong limitations in the doses of use. The same is true for sulphites whose use is allowed only for the production of wine, cider (always with limitations in the final product) and for the conservation of crustaceans.
The aromas eventually added can only be those classified by the community legislation as “natural flavors”. The use of ionizing radiation and any substance derived from or obtained from GMOs, even for the few conventional ingredients allowed, is always prohibited. Only the multi-ingredient products containing at least 95% of certified organic agricultural ingredients (excluding water, salt, additives and natural flavors) can be defined as “organic”.
The remaining 5% may consist exclusively of a few ingredients not available on the Community market and listed in a specific list of the regulation (Reg. CE 889/08, Annex IX). The same ingredient cannot be present simultaneously in the bio and conventional version.
Organic production must take place by ensuring separate processes over time (thanks to dedicated systems) or in space. In the latter case, the plant must be adequately cleaned before starting organic production. The records must allow a correct identification and reporting of the incoming and outgoing flows of raw materials and the finished product.