The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has appointed its first consultant in North America.

John Kukoly will be the BRC’s senior technical marketing consultant. He will work on the BRC global standard for food safety in the North American marketplace, as part of the BRC’s commitment to developing its standard in North America.

Kukoly has more than 20 years' technical management experience in the food industry. Formerly Kukoly was with QMI-SAI Global, a standards auditing and certification body based in Canada, where he played a key role in the introduction, operation and management of several food standards, including the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) programme, of which the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety was the first standard to be approved.

In his new role with BRC, Kukoly will work with food industry stakeholders, retailers, restaurants, producers and major trade associations, as well as North American-based certification bodies, to promote the BRC third party certification programme. He will develop training programmes, manage the North American Technical Advisory Committee and implement a marketing communication plan.

Dr Geoff Spriegel, director of BRC Global Standards, said: “This appointment demonstrates our firm commitment to developing the global standards in the Americas. I’m delighted John is joining the BRC team. He brings a wealth of experience to this role and will significantly enhance our presence in North America.”

Last month the BRC and North America’s leading retail trade association, the Retail Industry-Leaders Association (RILA), signed a joint agreement over another of the BRC’s Global Standards. The support for the BRC’s Consumer Product Standard is likely to lead to some of the world’s biggest retailers requiring their consumer products suppliers to show they meet this BRC safety standard.