'New scheme is a huge step forward for feed safety'

Standards & Feed Support Products is responsible for the standards and supporting services of the GMP+ Feed Certification scheme. Standards are regularly updated on the basis of new insights about feed safety management, both from our community as well as from feed industry experts. The department is also in charge of developing and updating the Feed Support Products, which offer support to certified companies and auditors.

With the launch of the new GMP+ FC scheme, 2021 must have been a busy year for your department?

Els – ‘It was a busy year indeed, but an exciting year as well. The redesigned scheme represents a huge step forward for GMP+ International, our worldwide community, and feed safety at large. Since we have a transition period in place, the 2010 scheme and the 2020 scheme now co-exist. This means that our team is constantly working to process changes and improvements in both schemes. As for the 2020 scheme, there were still some open ends that had to be solved.’

Dik – ‘For instance, it is now possible to exclude a part of the production from GMP+ FSA certification. Before, it was only possible to certify the whole production. The new situation is much more efficient for production plants, and makes it easier to join the scheme. This is especially true for companies that only have one or a few customers within the GMP+ chain.’

Were there other ‘open ends’ that needed to be solved?

Dik – ‘Yes, there were several others. One of them was the issue of carry-over and homogeneity. The new scheme is more goal-oriented, yet there were some topics that were so technical that we needed some more time with, and this was one of them. Standards for carry-over are in place to prevent unwanted substances and residues of feed additives and veterinary medicinal products ending up in feed. Instead of having extremely specific descriptions of the methods for carryovers, like in the old scheme, we now define only the required outcome. This gives companies more freedom in how to reach that goal. Similar changes were made for requirements for monitoring in fats and oils.’

With the focus on the 2020 scheme, did the Feed Support Products receive any attention as well?

Els – ‘They certainly did! It is our goal to support the GMP+ Community through the Feed Support Products and other services. We aim for an optimal user experience. That is why we asked several GMP+ certified companies about their experiences with our Feed Support Products, their usefulness, and their needs for improvement. This will result in an improvement program for the coming years. The first actions will be shared with the community next year.’

‘ Furthermore, in 2021 the International Database Transport for Feed (IDTF) got a significant upgrade. A new platform was launched, that included an improved search function. The GMP+ Helpdesk fielded over 4,500 questions from our community, and did so in more languages than ever. We added new staff to the Helpdesk and specifically looked at broadening the available languages. Now, we have Helpdesk colleagues who are fluent in English, German, Polish, Dutch, Italian, Spanish and Chinese. This is crucial to our goal of serving our worldwide community the best way we can.’

Are you satisfied with the progress made in 2021?

Dik – ‘Absolutely. Both the scheme and the support are structured and displayed in a way that is much more clear. That is also what we hear from our community. They are happy with the redesigned scheme and its goal-oriented approach.’

Els – ‘And we make sure that we continue to listen to the certified companies. That is why we also started interviewing companies about our Feed Support Products. What do you value? What elements should be improved or perhaps discontinued? How can we serve you better? These interviews provided us with valuable insights for our multiyear FSP plan.’