Cepac Darlington receives BRCGS Issue 6 Award, maintaining AA grade

Packaging Solutions

Cepac Darlington has attained the BRC (British Retail Consortium) Global Standard issue 6 for Packaging Materials – the most up to date and demanding certification that provides consumers with assurances around food safety and packaging quality. This accreditation is the latest upgrade available on the BRCGS programme and replaces the previous issue.

The certification promotes transparency in the supply chain and was achieved by Cepac’s Darlington site following an exacting audit process whereby the team illustrated comprehensive compliance and traceability processes. The international standard ensures that any products or packaging for the food and drink sector are handled in a safe and hygienic environment.

The BRCGS issue 6 standard is the only packaging guarantee to be recognised by the Global Food Safety Initiative’s benchmarking committee and is used by more than 3500 suppliers in the food and drink industry, covering 80 countries. As well as reviewing the corrugated and paper products, the assessment also looks at any printing or chemical processes involved in manufacturing.

Cepac said the certification had been welcomed by its customers in the FMCG market, helping to maintain compliance guidelines and provide guarantees at the highest level for the consumer, while encouraging a culture of quality among its teams.

Iain Hannam, general manager at Cepac Darlington, commented: ‘Ensuring that we benchmark our processes for food hygiene and quality formalises our approach to packaging for all of our customers. We know how important it is to be able to offer extensive traceability of their supply chains, and we are pleased to have met the rigorous BRCGS issue 6 standard.

‘The Packaging Materials accreditation includes all aspects of our manufacturing processes from food safety and quality to customer satisfaction. Cepac is committed to continuous improvement and our team at Darlington has gone above and beyond to maintain another international certification during such a challenging period.’