SALSA to BRCGS

SALSA certification can provide a stepping stone to further food safety quality certification schemes, such as BRCGS, as businesses grow and expand into larger markets.  There are many examples of SALSA members who have taken this step. 

We talked to Operations Director, Philip Johnston from W. G. Buchanan & Son Ltd who  have recently moved from SALSA to BRCGS.

"We joined SALSA in 2009 as we were looking for an independently audited system that was not only accepted by both retail and wholesale groups but was also resource effective (in terms of cost and personnel) for an organisation of our size. Although we already had our own quality system, the fact it was “in-house” meant a lot of time was spent dealing with customer audits and questionnaires. Moving to the SALSA Standard meant that we were not only audited to best practices with standardised procedures, but it was also easier to fully comply with the necessary legal and regulatory requirements for food safety.

Having SALSA enabled us to confidently grow our business and seek new customers. It provided us with enhanced credibility in having a fully audited and independent verification of our food safety and quality system which is widely recognised and accepted by retailers and food service companies. As well as improving operational efficiency, it strengthened our supply chain management with greater emphasis on traceability and risk management.

Business developments, especially those driven by Brexit, meant we had to target different geographical markets. As SALSA is a UK Standard, we needed to progress to a fully recognised GFSI benchmarked standard to access broader markets and export opportunities.

The SALSA standard has provided us with an exceptionally strong foundation to transition to BRCGS, (although this transition will involve several additional steps and more specific requirements). As an SME, SALSA provided invaluable food safety culture experience for both the company and its QA team and provided us with the confidence to take the “next step” in going for BRCGS which is much more resource intensive and requires a higher level of control and monitoring.

We would, without hesitation, recommend SALSA as the ideal introduction for SMEs to establish a robust food safety and quality management system for their organisation and maintain compliance with constantly evolving industry standards."