Certifications for the highest
commitment to quality
Biological
Certification “from organic farming” meets European regulatory requirements, already dictated by EC Reg. 834/07 and EC Reg. 889/08 and today by EC Reg. 848/18. The regulations establish how organic food is produced at all stages, from the field to the final consumer’s table. Organic farming has proven over time to be a more sustainable method of agriculture for the environment and for people.
It is also a supply chain certification that guarantees, step by step, the maintenance of certain requirements: in fact, the regulations require all organic farms, from agricultural production to marketing, to be subject to the control system. This obligation concerns agricultural and livestock producers as well as those involved in food preparation; the obligation is now also extended to the retail sale of bulk and pre-wrapped products as well as to warehousing and wholesale distribution activities.
In Italy, the Control Bodies appointed to certify and inspect organic operators are formally authorized by the competent Ministry of Agriculture. These Bodies are then in turn supervised for their work by the Regions and other relevant Public Authorities.
Certifications IFS e BRC
For the locations in San Giovanni and Parma.
IFS
IFS was founded in the 2000s, initially as the “International Food Standard.” In fact, IFS Food was the first standard, then specifically aimed at the food industry, originally developed by HDE – Deutscher Einzelhandelsverband (German Federation of Distributors).
The goals, yesterday as today, have always been food safety and quality of processes and products.
In the successive versions of the standard, the co-partnerships of French distributors and other Italian distributors’ associations were soon added in the drafting of the requirements.
Since then, the continued growth of the first Food standard has led IFS to operate globally and issue other certification standards. Today, IFS is “International Featured Standards” and continues to ensure that certified companies produce a product or provide a service that not only meets regulatory requirements, but also conforms to customer specifications-during ongoing efforts on process improvement.
BRCGS
The food safety standard BRCGS (literally “Brand Reputation through Compliance Global Standard”) was initially established as an initiative by the British Retail Consortium towards the end of the 1990s to harmonize food safety standards across the entire supply chain. Today, it is part of LGC ASSURE.
It is one of the schemes recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) and widely accepted by industrial customers, retailers, and distributors.
Manufacturers with BRCGS certification are typically recognized as providing greater assurances and benefits for food safety and often demonstrate better results compared to similar but uncertified production sites.
According to the BRCGS website, this is also supported by independent research conducted by the University of Birkbeck: organizations operating according to BRCGS standards generally improve food safety, operational efficiency, business growth, profitability, and innovation on a large scale.