1. Introduction

Over the years, GMP+ certified companies and Certification Bodies have built a solid reputation for reliability in the feed industry. They have earned the trust of buyers and suppliers. This is because the entire GMP+ Community works together to comply with the GMP+ Feed Safety Assurance (FSA) & GMP+ Feed Responsibility Assurance (FRA) standards. The modules, GMP+ FSA and GMP+ FRA, are part of the GMP+ Feed Certification scheme. They are set up by GMP+ International and are essential to safe and responsible feed.

Part of the reason for this success is the fact that GMP+ FSA & GMP+ FRA standards are not simply rigid general conditions. GMP+ International and the GMP+ Community have worked hard to provide standards that ensure feed safety and responsibility and are also flexible enough to be compatible with other requirements.

As mentioned, working together within the GMP+ Community contributes to feed safety worldwide. The image below illustrates our “Plan”, “Do”, “Act” & “Check” method (PDAC) where we act as one global community and where we all collaborate in realising safe and responsible feed. By involving each party in the GMP+ Community, and keep open communication, we ensure our PDAC-method is secured and verified along the work process.

If you choose the GMP+ Feed Certification scheme, you choose to work together with the GMP+ Community to add value to your products and company. This ensures safe and responsible feed -- and therefore safe food – for everyone all over the world.

2. Objectives

The GMP+ Feed Certification scheme aims to support a feed company in its objective to deliver safe feed, thus contributing to the production of safe food. Unsafe feed is feed which poses a risk for human or animal health.

In 1992, after various serious incidents with contaminated feed materials, the Dutch feed industry decided to set up a certification scheme for feed safety: GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices). That resulted in what is now the GMP+ Feed Certification scheme with the GMP+ FSA module.

Safe feed is our shared responsibility and objective. In addition, from 2013, GMP+ Feed Responsibly Assurance (GMP+ FRA) was developed. Working responsible has become a must for a rapidly growing number of companies all across the world. GMP+ FRA certification helps companies prove to their suppliers and customers that their company is taking its responsibilities.

3. Key principles of the GMP+ Feed Certification scheme

Our mission is feed safety worldwide but the actual scheme provides requirements for the assurance of feed safety and specific market requirements about feed responsibility. The GMP+ Feed Certification scheme is based on the following six key principles which are applicable to any of the members of the GMP+ Community:

1. Safeguarding a high level of feed safety worldwide
2. Recognizing that the primary responsibility lies with the certified company
3. Acknowledging that certified companies share responsibility
4. Striving to align with internationally accepted standards
5. Encouraging transparency and involvement with multiple stakeholders
6. Ensuring third-party certification

Let’s look at these principles more closely.

1. Safeguarding high level of feed safety worldwide
   The GMP+ Feed Certification scheme ensures the same level of feed safety assurance worldwide. The requirements are objective, science-based and practical. The international accepted standards and requirements for feed safety assurance like GMP, HACCP, control measure for identified risks, ISO quality management requirements, traceability and corrective measures as described by EU legislation are leading. On the other hand, the GMP+ Feed Certification scheme ensures that companies can work responsible based on market initiatives.
   
   It is important to mention the scheme's ‘feed chain approach’. This means that all sup-pliers to your company - and other companies - must be compliant with the scheme requirements. The ‘chain approach’ is essential to the GMP+ Feed Certification scheme as it is something our stakeholders demand.
   
   

2. Primary responsibility lies with the certified company
   The requirements in the scheme are focused on achieving a high level of feed safety but allow the operator freedom to determine how this high level is ensured. The GMP+ certified companies have asked to be free to determine how to achieve the requirements GMP+ International has responded by setting up a scheme that distinguishes between goal requirements -- that GMP+ International determines -- and yet allows the GMP+ certified company to focus on how to achieve those goals.
   
   The "what" is set by GMP+ International and its stakeholders, the "how-to" by the GMP+ certified companies.
   
   

3. GMP+ certified companies share the responsibility of feed safety within the whole chain
   The responsibility for compliance with the standard not only lies with your company, but with every company in the feed chain. That is truly a shared responsibility. After all, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
   
   Several stages and activities carried out by different companies can be clearly distinguished in the whole process of production and delivery of feed to farmers.
   To ensure that safe feed is delivered each company in the feed chain must operate according to the same, harmonized feed safety standards. Feed safety is achieved via common effort in the chain, which means transparency is essential. This means sharing information throughout the feed chain and/or within the GMP+ community.
   
   You are not alone in achieving feed safety. This is the shared responsibility of the certified companies and GMP+ International. You are free at all times to request and get support from GMP+ International. GMP+ International can also support your company with the implementation of the requirements of the Scheme via Feed Support Products.

4. Alignment with internationally accepted standards
   A GMP+ certified company is often confronted with requests from buyers and suppliers to guarantee compliance with requirements other than feed safety. These could include requirements regarding food safety, corporate sustainability or corporate social responsibility, for example. Aligning with international standards for these business practices contributes to the accessibility and application of the GMP+ standards.
   
   It is helpful to establish and operate a central control management system in which both the GMP+ standards and the additional requirements are integrated and monitored. The ISO 22000 standard acts as a basis for this system.
   
   

5. Transparency and involvement multiple stakeholders
   Principles of the GMP+ Feed Certification scheme are transparency and stakeholders’ involvement. These values reinforce each other and you cannot have one without the other. The standard which GMP+ International has set is , the summary of what stakeholders have requested from the GMP+ Community. Stakeholders and/or individual companies are always invited to share their thoughts and ideas. Every contribution is welcome and will be heard. For development of the scheme, cooperation is key for approach, which can only thrive in an organisation that is transparent.
   
   
6. Third party certification
   GMP+ International works for certification of companies exclusively with recognised independent Certification Bodies. Any conflict of interest is unacceptable by definition, and also because it would rightfully undermine confidence in the GMP+ Feed Certification scheme.

GMP+ International ensures that all companies must operate by the same set of requirements. The level of feed safety is monitored and harmonized by third-party certification, anywhere in the world. This allows GMP+ certified companies to rely on the standards. This guarantees uniformity and quality.

4. Key elements

This document specifies the requirements for a GMP+ Feed Safety Management System that combines the following generally recognized (proactive as well as reactive) key elements:

• GMP, Good Manufacturing Practices to prevent possible hazards occurring,
• HACCP principles, in order to identify and control feed safety risks,
• ISO measures or a coherent management system to assure a continuous control of risks and operations,
• A unique chain approach concerning stakeholders to control risks that may occur in the feed supply chain,
• Early Warning System to manage contamination expansion in the feed supply chain.

(Goal) Requirements
Goal requirements are set, but the way to achieve compliance with these requirements is the responsibility of GMP+ certified companies. In some cases, there are very strict requirements linked to a goal requirement. These types of requirements are of a more detailed nature and may include set rules for achieving the Goal requirements. GMP+ International and its stakeholders are certain that these requirements are beneficial to feed safety and therefore your company.

5. Compliance with legislation

Every company that is active in the feed industry must comply with the relevant feed safety legislation. The stakeholders of GMP+ International acknowledge the ultimate requirements that are set out in feed-related EU legislation.

The most important elements of those regulations are already incorporated in the GMP+ FC scheme and must therefore be respected by GMP+ certified companies. If national feed-related legislation are stricter than the GMP+ FSA certification requirements, the GMP+ certified companies must respect the requirements of those national legislation.

In all other cases (less strict or no national legislation) the GMP+ certified company must comply with the GMP+ requirements, regardless of where the company is located and which market it serves. It is thanks to this compliance level that a high level of feed safety assurance can be realized in all countries. This also ensures that a GMP+ FSA certificate has a high level of feed safety assurance all over the world.

It remains the responsibility of every GMP+ certified company to make sure that it complies with the relevant feed legislation.

6. Customer requirements

The feed industry is part of the food chain. The GMP+ Feed Certification scheme contains clear standards and requirements to guarantee safe feed to provide safe food. However, individual parties may have individual needs and as such, these are permitted on the condition that they do not interfere with the GMP+ Feed Certification scheme. The universality of the GMP+ Feed Certification Scheme means it does not prescribe what to do in individual cases. This naturally leaves room for individuality, and a customized approach.

7. Structure of the scheme and cohesion between documents

The two modules of the GMP+ Feed Certification scheme, consisting of GMP+ FSA and GMP+ FRA, are graphically explained in the image below. The GMP+ Community collectively shares a responsibility towards safe feed.

In the Framework (1) documents we explain in how we work together to achieve this and we explain how the feed safety system works.

Consequently, there are Requirements (2). These are split up for each module and are divided into two sections:

1. Company requirements: these contain a general section outlining Feed Safety -or Feed Responsibility Management System Requirements for all scopes and additional or specific requirements are explained in the Technical Specifications section.
2. Requirements for Certification Bodies: these outline the harmonised level of auditing.

Lastly, we offer extensive Support (3) and guidance for the GMP+ Community to implement the requirements. This is done through our guidance and support tools by means of Feed Support Products (FSP).

8. Helpful tips for the reader

The GMP+ Feed Certification scheme, with its two modules, has been written with the daily practice of the GMP+ certified companies in mind. In this document, the focus is on the goal requirements. Motivations and explanations are left out as much as possible, as well as more strict requirements.

The text of the scheme documents is designed to set out requirements about ‘what to achieve’. It is the responsibility of the individual company to define, implement and operate specific procedures and control measures, and demonstrate that the Feed Safety Management System (and the Feed responsibility Management System) is effective in achieving the objectives. In some cases, more strict requirements are necessary.

Feed Support Products