First result of collaboration Oqualim and GMP+ International

For several years already,  there has been a good relationship between GMP+ International and  Oqualim, and its supporting trade associations Coop du France and SNIA in France. Oqualim provides a certificate for the compound feed industry to comply with specific demands in the French market, with about 180 certified production plants. GMP+ International provides a feed safety assurance certificate for the whole feed supply chain, which is a ‘passport’ for French feed industry towards the international market. There are over 300 GMP+ FSA certified companies / production locations in France and it is still growing.

Oqualim and GMP+ International realized that they could be complementary to each other, with mutual benefits and most in the interest of French companies; and that mutual recognition could be achievable at the end.

The leading objective is to find benefit for the French feed companies on the short term. This was laid down in the Memorandum of Understanding of 15 May 2015 and resulted in the guidance for a joint audit for Oqualim and GMP+ FSA standards to avoid overlap and double cost for companies.  That guidance was published on June 15th 2017.

Both Oqualim and GMP+ International, got insight in the value of each standard, and this collaboration also contributed to a better understanding of the organizations and more mutual trust.

Mr. Jean-Luc Cade, President of Coop du France “Nutrition Animale” underlined: “We see this achievement as an important first step to continue our joined efforts in optimizing the added value of our standards for the benefit of the applying companies.“.

During the Oqualim meeting, Johan den Hartog, Managing Director of GMP+ International expressed: “ I hope that our current collaboration will result in a long-term partnership in which we can provide the best service to comply with the needs of French feed companies”.