Sep 25 2011
Leading food advisory group Exova has been awarded a five-star rating by the recently introduced British Retail Consortium (BRC) certification body performance ratings.
The performance ratings, implemented in July, are marked by the BRC compliance team and award each certification body a star rating from one to a maximum of five according to overall service performance.
The result means that Exova will be listed as one of the leading certification bodies on the BRC directory website, often consulted by businesses looking to carry out operation audits.
Jon Revell, Certification Scheme Manager at Exova, said: "This is a great endorsement of the thorough approach we have to certification. We know the food industry, the systems operated by retailers, manufacturers and caterers as well as the commercial pressures on businesses. We are perfectly placed to conduct business audits.
"We are proud to be awarded the five-star rating under this latest assessment, but also firmly believe it is thoroughly deserved. We offer something extra; a dedicated audit team made up of experienced food technologists with an industry background and also a rapid report turnaround of an average of five days after an audit. These are just two of the reasons for our excellent rating and is exactly why businesses should come to us first."
The BRC compliance team assessed Exova against five different criteria; audit report writing quality; compliance to the BRC scheme and standard protocol requirements; auditor registration; submission of audit reports to the BRC directory and commitment and communication.
The BRC introduced the Global Standards scheme to ensure integrity and consistency for all users. Any certification body whose performance is in doubt will have sanctions applied against them, including suspension and withdrawal of BRC approval and will not be listed.
The Exova certification team provides clients with audit services covering food safety, packaging, storage and distribution and beef labelling as well as other second and third party audits.
The team is part of Exova Advisory, a service which works with clients to advise on tailored expert legal advice and information on all aspects of UK and EU legislation relating to the food and consumer products industries.
Clients include small food manufacturers to raw materials suppliers and large retailers.