- Home
- Certifications
Independent guide
Certifications, explained.
What each certification certifies, who issues it and where to check a certificate. Every page links to the official bodies.
Where to start
Three different questions.
A certification answers one question only. That is why a buyer can ask for more than one, and one does not replace another.
1
Is the plant safe?
Food-safety standards, from HACCP to the schemes recognised by GFSI. Large buyers almost always ask for one of them.
2
How was it grown, and who benefits?
Organic, Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, Bio Suisse. They speak to method and conditions and do not replace food safety.
3
How does the farm work?
GLOBALG.A.P. and similar: good practice on the farm, mostly for fresh fruit and vegetables.
At a glance
Food-safety schemes side by side.
GFSI is the body that recognises schemes. A buyer that requires "a GFSI scheme" accepts any of the first four.
| Certification | Owner | GFSI | Often asked by | Check a certificate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FSSC 22000 | Foundation FSSC (NL) | Yes | Industrial manufacturers; buyers accepting any GFSI scheme | FSSC public register ↗ |
| BRCGS Food Safety | BRCGS (UK) | Yes | Retailers and brand owners, UK and Europe | BRCGS Directory ↗ |
| IFS Food | IFS Management (Berlin) | Yes | Retail in DACH, France and Italy | IFS certificate database ↗ |
| SQF (Safe Quality Food) | SQFI / FMI (USA) | Yes | US-linked buyers, some EU and Australia | SQF Certified Site Directory ↗ |
| ISO 22000 | ISO | No | Some industrial and B2B buyers | Certification body or accreditation register ↗ |
| HACCP (Codex) | Codex Alimentarius | No | Distributors and packers; baseline for all | Issuing body of the audit ↗ |
Food safety
Is the plant that handles the product run safely? From the basic method to the schemes that big buyers accept.
HACCP (Codex)
The hazard-analysis method behind almost every food-safety standard.
Read the guide →ISO 22000
International standard for food-safety management systems. Not GFSI-recognised on its own.
Read the guide →
FSSC 22000
ISO 22000 plus sector prerequisites and extra requirements. GFSI-recognised.
Read the guide →
BRCGS Food Safety
Prescriptive scheme with a graded result (AA to D). GFSI-recognised, common with retailers and brands.
Read the guide →
IFS Food
Retail-driven scheme from Germany and France. GFSI-recognised.
Read the guide →
SQF (Safe Quality Food)
US-origin scheme with a food-safety and a quality level. GFSI-recognised.
Read the guide →
GFSI
Not a certificate: the benchmark that decides which schemes buyers accept.
Read the guide →Organic, fair and sustainable
How the product was grown or collected and who benefits. These do not replace a food-safety scheme.
EU Organic
The EU organic logo and rules, including how imports from Brazil are certified.
Read the guide →
Bio Suisse (Bud)
Swiss organic label with stricter rules than the EU baseline, for imports into Switzerland.
Read the guide →
Fairtrade (FLO)
Social and economic standards for producers, with a minimum price and a premium.
Read the guide →
Rainforest Alliance
Sustainable-agriculture standard covering farms and supply chains.
Read the guide →Farm level and commodity programmes
Good practice on the farm and sustainability programmes for specific products: fresh fruit, sugar and soy.
GLOBALG.A.P.
Good agricultural practice at farm level, with a GGN number. Recognised by GFSI for farms.
Read the guide →
Bonsucro
Sustainability standard for sugarcane and its products, certified at mill level.
Read the guide →RTRS (responsible soy)
Round Table on Responsible Soy: standard and certification for soy produced responsibly.
Read the guide →EU import rules and trade
Not certificates: the rules every shipment to the EU has to meet, and the trade agreement that changes the tariff.
EU–Mercosur trade agreement
Tariffs, quotas and rules of origin for trade between the EU and Brazil. Applies provisionally since 1 May 2026.
Read the guide →EUDR (EU deforestation regulation)
Proof that coffee, cocoa, soy, beef, palm oil, rubber and wood are not linked to deforestation. Applies from 30 December 2026.
Read the guide →EU contaminant limits and RASFF
Maximum levels for aflatoxins and other contaminants, and the rapid alert system for rejected food.
Read the guide →
Social compliance audits
Working conditions at the supplier, checked by audit and shared with retail and brand customers.
Sedex SMETA
Ethical trade audit shared with customers through the Sedex platform. An audit report, not a certificate.
Read the guide →amfori BSCI
Social audit based on a code of conduct, commissioned by suppliers of amfori members.
Read the guide →