Food and drink supply chains

Food and drink manufacturers face two certification systems in parallel, and they are audited by different bodies with different expectations. Most UK retailers require a GFSI-benchmarked scheme such as BRCGS or FSSC 22000 alongside the environmental and energy standards their corporate customers ask for.

The safety scheme is prescriptive: prerequisite programmes, hazard analysis, supplier approval, traceability and challenge testing, with an unannounced audit cycle. The environmental side is more open, which is why it is often weaker. ISO 14001 in a food business must account for refrigerant loss, effluent with high biological load, packaging volumes and food waste, all of which are material and all of which are routinely under-recorded.

Where ingredients move into EU markets, ISCC EU becomes relevant: sustainability declarations for bio-based feedstock, mass balance and greenhouse gas values with evidence at every link. UK processors supplying EU customers often discover that supplier documentation, not their own system, is the real constraint.

Energy is the other live issue. Refrigeration, compressed air, ovens and clean-in-place systems dominate consumption, and ISO 50001 provides the baseline and monitoring discipline that makes a reduction claim defensible.

Timelines are driven by prerequisite programme maturity. Where a site already holds a GFSI scheme certificate, adding ISO 14001 typically takes four to six months.