LP FOODS @ SOURCE: WE ARE AWARDED BRC GRADE AA

Short Interview of Thanh and Hoa, Quality Assurance Team of LP Foods

What is BRC?

British Retail Consortium (BRC) standards are set guidelines for food and quality safety and management systems certified by the GFSI (Global Foods Safety Initiatives) organization

Why is BRC important?

BRC is the certification that is requested by large importers and distributors in markets such as the UK, US, EU, etc.

What makes BRC different from other certificates?

BRC has been created in UK, a market where retailer’s standards are well known for being particularly strict and setting the reference standards globally

What was the challenges in getting (and maintaining) the BRC Certificate?

There are numerous strict standards to abide by the company and the sourcing sites. The BRC certificate is not a one-time guarantee, there are annual audits: the challenge is in maintaining (the certificate) and improving continuously.

We do this by:

1. Performing internal food safety and quality management
system reviews monthly

2. Being Audited annually by an independent Auditor chosen by BRC and
coming directly from the UK as in Vietnam there is no A&B accredited certification body

How do we maintain our status as a BRC certified company?

We follow a schedule we created, inspect and review detailed and specific elements in our supply chain system. Currently on the global BRC Directory system there are only 5 Agents & Brokers certified companies with the highest score (AA) so we feel the responsibility to keep the compliance level, food safety and quality management system.

What are the advantages (benefits) of BRC certificates? like what does it mean for us?

We can demonstrate our integrity and claims of higher supply chain standards implementation and maintenance with a globally recognized certification and therefore gain more trust from demanding customers.

What are our current and next(future) plans?

We plan to look into obtaining a Social Responsibility Certification (SMETA/BSC) as well as possible join projects with the major NGOs in Vietnam in the field of Sustainability or Organic

We predict that it will be very difficult for ocean freight from Vietnam to decrease the cost, even for next year.

On May 19th, 2021, at the webinar and Sustainability certification: win-win cooperation for effective application and organized by VASEP, the Association has announced the decision to establish the VASEP Sustainability Certifications Advisory Council (VASEP CERACO) with a list of council members, operating regulations and annual action plan of 2021. VASEP CERACO Council will support VASEP member businesses to apply well and conveniently international sustainability certifications.

Vietnam is the third largest seafood exporter in the world. Seafood export turnover increased from 1.8 billion USD in 2000 to 8.8 billion USD in 2018, and according to Vietnam and seafood development strategy to 2030, with a vision to 2045, the export value will reach 14-16 billion USD by 2030. Of which, aquaculture products contribute the majority of over 60-65% and this share will certainly continue to increase in the future.

Vietnam and seafood products (mainly shrimp and pangasius) have been exported to more than 160 markets around the world and are holding a certain position in fastidious markets such as the US, Japan, the EU, Korea, and Australia…

However, with the increase in seafood production and exports, the import markets are also increasingly demanding requirements, standards and certifications to control and promote sustainable aquaculture practices.

In the past time, VASEP Association has conducted a survey and synthesized opinions of member enterprises related to some shortcomings and difficulties in some procedures and criteria when implementing ASC certification standards. The Association is also receiving active coordination from the ASC Organization regarding the recommendations that have been collected and compiled.

Determining this is an important and meaningful activity, today on May 19, 2021, at the webinar and Sustainability certifications: win-win cooperation for effective application and organized by VASEP, the Association has announced the decision to establish the VASEP Sustainability Certifications Advisory Council (VASEP CERACO) with a list of council members, operating regulations and annual action plan of 2021.

VASEP CERACO will perform 4 main functions following:

– Comment on standards and procedures for seafood certification

– Summarize difficulties and problems of member enterprises to exchange, dialogue, and propose to solve with the certificate holder

– Coordinate with parties to support capacity building of member enterprises to implement certifications

– Promote Vietnam’s certified seafood enterprises and their products

VASEP CERACO Council will support VASEP member businesses to apply well and conveniently international sustainability certifications, contributing to improving the value and position of Vietnam and seafood products in the world market, aiming to achieve the goal of seafood export reaching 14-16 billion USD by 2030.

There are 19 members in CERACO:

– Group 1: 5 members from government bodies

– Group 2: 10 members from big seafood producers

– Group 3: 4 members from importer companies

As an innovator in the seafood industry, LP Foods is proud to be a member of the CERACO Council (Group 3). LP Foods, together with VASEP, will support enterprises to perform well in any matters related to Sustainability Certification.

Our Quality Assurance Team has done a fantastic job in getting the BRC Agents & Brokers for our company.

The BRC certification is a proof that our Food Safety and Quality are professionally controlled and developed so it is a guarantee for our buyers to work with us.

We expect the BRC Certification to improve LP Foods reputation and visibility for all big supermarkets and importers. In UK, in USA and all other major markets so we will actively use this certification for our Marketing to find new clients.

Our Quality Assurance Team even got Grade AA: so far only 4 companies internationally did so high grade!

Congratulation to Thanh and Hoa for the fantastic job, please keep up the good work:

How will you improve our reputation next? What is next target?