Quality and food safety at FGT and FGL guaranteed by certification

Since the end of last year, Frigo Group Transport (FGT) and Frigo Group Logistics (FGL) have been ISO 9001 certified. A few months later, the IFS Food certification was also a fact. This means that quality management and food safety are guaranteed in both parts of the Frigo Group.

According to Anneloes Drost, financial manager of FGL and FGT, both system certifications are no unnecessary luxury. “As a company, you can’t do without them anymore. Customers ask for it. And for yourself it is good to know that the organisation and all processes within the company meet all international standards and requirements.”

ISO 9001 focuses on quality management, while the International Food Standard (IFS) has become the standard in the field of food safety. Hereby is worked with a so-called audit score and even ‘knock-out-criteria’. Drost: “A score of 95 percent or higher is the highest level, the so-called ‘higher level’. We are very proud that we have achieved a score of 98.48 percent.”

A lot of time and energy

Together with colleague Christian Vermazen Drost has put a lot of time and energy in both certifications, which according to her are an extension of each other. “In the field of transport and logistics of refrigerated and frozen food, our core business, IFS continues in a sense where ISO 9001 stops. It is good to know that our entire business operations are covered by it, including all business processes and the organisation.”

Drost emphasises that both Frigo companies did not need to change course. “In fact we were already working according to the ISO 9001 and ISF standards. Only now everything is laid down and standardised, so that both food safety and the quality of all business processes are better guaranteed.”

In good hands

Thanks to the certification, FGT and FGL can now also show customers that quality and food safety are in good hands at both companies. After the successful audits Drost says it was not a matter of ‘leaning back’. “It is a continuous process. Once certified, it actually starts. You take all employees with you, knowing that every year a new audit takes place. We were happy with the certifications, but also realise that you have to keep it up to date and keep investing in it. Our customers can rest assured that we do.”