FSSC 22000 and GMP+ International enter into strategic partnership for food by-products

Both organizations agreed to draft a certification protocol for a combined audit for FSSC 22000 and GMP+ FSA certification. This protocol should become available in early 2018. Application of this protocol enables a food company to implement the requirements from both certification schemes, and certification bodies to assess compliance through one audit. As a result by-products from those companies can be accepted by the market as being fully in compliance with both schemes. 

FSSC 22000 is a leading, GFSI recognized certification scheme for food safety and quality assurance in the food and feed industry. At present almost 16,000 organizations in over 140 countries are under FSSC 22000 certification.

GMP+ International is a global leader in animal feed certification, addressing feed safety assurance (GMP+ FSA) as well as feed responsibility issues (GMP+ FRA). It operates on the base of well-balanced, multi-stakeholders’ participation in the feed & food chain. Today, more than 16,000 companies / locations in the entire animal feed (supply) chain in 80 countries around the world are GMP+ certified. 

The partnership of FSSC 22000 and GMP+ International is mostly in the interest of the producers of both food and feed products. Firstly, for companies like oil seed crushers, wheat millers and other cereal processors; they produce products for the human food industry (oil, flour, starch), while the by-products are sold to the animal feed market. Secondly, for integrated companies involved in production of poultry meat, pork, eggs and seafood.

The combined audit possibility for the FSSC 22000 and GMP+ certification schemes avoids overlap and double cost and provides two certificates to organizations valuable in both the food as well feed market. This joint project is facilitating the request by both the food and feed industry, to work closer together in the interest of the customer adding value and decreasing cost.