Two professional food safety standards and inspections bodies, EFSIS and Organic Farmers & Growers (OF&G), have created a partnership to offer organic businesses efficient and cost-effective inspection and certification services.
The organic food industry is expanding, and increased consumer demand has resulted in sales increasing with estimated annual sector turnover to be approximately £1 billion.
Working together, EFSIS and OF&G will carry out farmer and food manufacturer assessment to satisfy both their government approved standards, and the advantage is that more than one inspection can be undertaken for food producers simultaneously. The new partnership aims to better the proficiency of their services and to ensure that the best standards are applied.
Marketing and international operations director of EFSIS Paul Ruocco said: “We can guarantee the food industry a truly business-like approach to organics inspection, offering excellent value-for-money. The combination of EFSIS and OF&G means businesses can benefit from the backing of two of the most professional organisations in the food and organic food sectors.”
Consumers want to know that organic food conforms to the legal requirements of certification and OF&G certified produce carry the industry recognised logo.
Ruocco explained that the price of an inspection is based on the business size rather than overall profit and each food company is allocated a dedicated expert to conduct the examination.
• OF&G is a large UK organic certifier, originally established in 1975 and attained government accreditation in 1988 as the first body to certify organic standards. The body currently licenses close to 1,000 producers and 200 processors.
EFSIS was founded in 1989 when the Meat and Livestock Commission and the Campden and Chorleywood Research Association amalgamated to form an inspection company, and today services 4,500 food manufacturers and 20,000 farmers in all the areas of the food industry including fresh produce.
See this week's Fresh Produce Journal for the FPJ Organic Supplement or order online at freshinfo store
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