BRCGS Professional helps OSI Europe deliver excellence into its Food Safety program

BRCGS is well known for it’s expertise in food safety. Since its creation in 1996, BRCGS has transformed into a global leading consumer protection organisation, working with global brands like Waitrose, Pepsico, and Grupo Bimbo. The collective goal – to help deliver food and product safety in supply chains and protect consumers.

And last week another delighted customer announced some brilliant news from its own work with BRCGS.

BRCGS helps OSI Europe to enhance food safety expertise in its supply chain workforce

That customer is OSI Europe.

Part of OSI Group, they are one of the world’s largest privately held food manufacturers, supporting some of the most well-known foodservice and retail brands. With an international network of food processing businesses, they help their customers with a range of services, from product innovation to the sourcing of raw ingredients.

Therefore, OSI Group already had a strong relationship with BRCGS. That’s because BRCGS helps OSI Group to integrate food safety standards and policies through the industry renowned Global Standards, as communicated by Sharon Birkett, VP, Global QA Operations, OSI Group, LLC.

"BRCGS is always looking at emerging risks. They collaborate with diverse food industries and sectors to bring the emerging risks to the forefront by reviewing and updating their standards accordingly. The standards are ahead of their time and challenge OSI’s food safety and quality policies with the new and emerging risks. This makes it uncomplicated to remain current with the risks identified related to the food industry."

OSI Europe sign up to BRCGS Professional to improve Food Safety expertise in its plants and offices

However, delivering food safety quality assurance is not just about the Standards. You need well trained and knowledgeable people. OSI Europe realised that to improve food safety capability across its network of plants and offices, they needed a personal development program that delivered on the following:

• A consistent level of training delivery across the group.

• A platform to drive opportunities for learning and networking to enhance employee engagement.

• To address key skills gaps surrounding product safety management, best practise and the practical application of HACCP principles.

The BRCGS Professional program was identified as the framework that would be used to achieve these goals.

That’s because the program is made up of industry leading BRCGS training across all Standards, Hazard and Risk Management and Product Safety Management. It is accredited with developing leaders within food safety organisations, and creating a global network of food safety experts, with over 11,500 enrolled Professionals across over 6,700 different BRCGS certificated sites.

Congratulations to OSI Europe’s new BRCGS Professional Graduates

Since formalising their partnership with BRCGS in April 2021, OSI Europe has put 24 of its staff through BRCGS’s world-class learning and development program. This has required them to go through one and a half years of rigorous training, including classroom learning, training assignments and exams.

And last week, OSI Europe announced the news that each candidate has now received their BRCGS Professional development certificate with global recognition.

Therefore, congratulations to all the OSI Europe graduates. LGC ASSURE and BRCGS are proud to support you in your goal of keeping the world’s food supply safe.

BRCGS Performance Enhancement provides supply chain assurance

What is extremely beneficial about BRCGS Professional is that it is flexible enough to work in any food or product safety organisation. For example, BRCGS recently signed a partnership agreement with Waitrose, which will embed its Professional learning and development programme throughout its supply chain. Also, Aldi has also become an ambassador of BRCGS Professional, and will now be recommending that its suppliers develop their technical teams by enrolling and completing the program.

A range of food safety resources designed for all industries

And whilst these commercial arrangements allow businesses to improve food safety expertise at scale, the Professional Program can work on a one-to-one basis, if the individual comes from a certificated site. For example, we have seen staff from Sainsbury’s and Greggs take advantage and become graduates.

As a pioneer of high food quality standards, we're pleased to become an ambassador of the BRCGS's programme.

Finally, the BRCGS Professional program helps to enhance the food safety skills of individuals, it is part of a wider Performance Enhancement service that BRCGS delivers to its customers. It helps customers better understand and respond to increasing compliance requirements, particularly within our BRCGS Standards.

Also, through industry events, compliance programs for trainers and content development, Performance Enhancement means we can help to upskill the food and beverage sectors, contributing to w world where food safety is operated by qualified experts.

And its success can be seen in the numbers, with 10,384 delegates trained and 1,755 courses delivered across 47 countries in 2021. In addition to this, it has created adapted to more organisation’s having a more mobile workforce, whereby 79% of training conducted was delivered virtually.

If you would like to find out more about BRCGS Performance Enhancement, download the 2021 report here.