Support processors

Food regulatory system in today’s world is by far complex than ever before. Legislative requirements determine minimal mandatory requirements to food business operators and their enforcement can be very volatile due to a number of endogenous and exogenous factors. Private standards and certification schemes (also known as voluntary standards) for agricultural products and foodstuffs are to remedy shortcomings in legislation. Enforced through contract law, audits and certification private standards and certification schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs have led to higher level of consumer protection.

The Value Chain Agro Finance Project supports food business operators in Project value chains to implement standards and certification schemes such as ISO 22000:2018, ISO 9001:2015, FSSC 22000, BRCGS, IFS, SQF, Global GAP, EU Organic. The Project support includes:

• Facilitating implementation of standard or certification scheme through trainings and consultancy to food business operators
• Additionally, under exceptional circumstances, the Project may consider co-funding of equipment significant to compliance to the requirements of selected standard or certification scheme.

The selection process of food business operators contains 2 major stages:

1. review and evaluation of applications and evidences received against the requirements and criteria of the Project
2. onsite audit by corresponding Value Chain Agro Finance experts in order to define the actual physical conditions of the facilities and determining the conformity against the requirements of standard or certifications scheme.