Compliance for Food & Beverage
In food and beverage, compliance is commercial access. Retailers, exporters and aggregators use certification as the gate — and a single recall event can cost more than a decade of certification.
4.9/5 average client rating · 500+ engagements delivered
Where the risk actually sits
Most food safety failures are not exotic. They are allergen cross-contact from a shared line, a cold chain excursion nobody logged, a supplier substitution that changed an ingredient specification, or a labelling error that becomes a recall.
We build systems that catch those specific failures: validated critical control points, allergen matrices with cleaning validation, temperature monitoring with alarm escalation, and traceability that can be reconciled under time pressure.
- Allergen management and labelling accuracy across shared lines and changeovers
- Cold chain integrity from despatch through last-mile delivery
- Supplier approval, incoming material verification and food fraud vulnerability
- Water, effluent, waste and packaging obligations under environmental regulation
- Worker safety in high-risk areas: cold rooms, boilers, confined spaces and machinery
At a glance
| Regulatory context | FSSAI Act and Schedule 4, Legal Metrology, export destination requirements |
|---|---|
| Most requested | ISO 22000, FSSC 22000, HACCP, ISO 9001, ISO 45001, ISO 14001 |
| Buyer requirement | GFSI-recognised certification (FSSC 22000) for most modern retail and export contracts |
| Critical capability | Traceability with mock recall reconciliation, typically within four hours |
Engagements we run most often
Practical, floor-level work — most of our food sector time is spent in plants, not conference rooms.
PRP infrastructure gaps
Layout, drainage, air handling, pest proofing and hygiene zoning assessed against ISO/TS 22002 with a costed upgrade plan.
HACCP that survives audit
Verified flow diagrams, defensible CCP determination and validated critical limits based on your own process data.
Allergen control
Allergen matrix, changeover validation, swab testing regime and label verification workflow.
Traceability and recall
Batch coding design, forward/backward trace testing and mock recall exercises with reconciliation timing.
Export scheme upgrade
Moving from HACCP or ISO 22000 to FSSC 22000 for GFSI recognition demanded by international buyers.
What food & beverage organisations usually certify
These are the frameworks we implement most often in this sector, and the reason each one comes up.
| Framework | Why it applies here | |
|---|---|---|
| ISO 22000 / FSSC 22000 | The core food safety management system, with GFSI recognition through FSSC. | Details |
| ISO 9001 | Quality consistency across batches, suppliers and multi-plant operations. | Details |
| ISO 45001 | Machinery, cold room, boiler and confined space safety in processing environments. | Details |
| ISO 14001 | Effluent, waste, packaging and water obligations under environmental regulation. | Details |
| ISO 50001 | Refrigeration and process heat are usually the two largest controllable costs. | Details |
| ISO 22301 | Continuity for single-plant operations where a shutdown stops all supply. | Details |
Who we work with
Every link in the food chain, including those who never touch the product.
- Food processing plants, dairies, bakeries, spice, snack and ready-to-eat manufacturers
- Beverage producers, breweries, bottlers and water treatment plants
- Cold storage, refrigerated transport and food logistics operators
- QSR chains, cloud kitchens, catering and institutional food service
- Packaging, ingredient, flavour and additive suppliers
- Exporters requiring buyer-mandated GFSI scheme certification
Export and retail access
GFSI-recognised certification opens buyer doors that no amount of internal quality data will.
Recall exposure reduced
Validated controls and tested traceability shrink both probability and cost of a withdrawal.
Lower rejection and rework
Systematic hygiene and process control reduce batch loss, complaints and shelf-life failures.
Smoother FSSAI inspections
Schedule 4 requirements are already covered by the certified system.
Food & Beverage — frequently asked questions
If your buyers are domestic and do not specify a scheme, ISO 22000 is sufficient. If you export, supply modern retail, or serve multinational food companies, they almost always require GFSI recognition, which means FSSC 22000. Upgrading later is straightforward but costs an extra audit cycle.
No. ISO 22000 incorporates the Codex HACCP principles fully. Some buyers ask for a HACCP certificate by name out of habit, and most certification bodies can issue one alongside from the same audit.
It varies enormously. Plants built to food-grade design need very little; older facilities often need drainage, zoning or air handling work. We give you a costed, prioritised PRP upgrade plan early in the engagement so there are no budget surprises three months in.
Yes. ISO 22000 covers food service, and ISO/TS 22002-2 provides the relevant prerequisite programme specification. It is increasingly requested by corporate catering clients and food aggregator platforms.
Still not sure what applies to you?
Ask an assessor directly — we answer scoping questions before anyone talks about a fee.
Get a compliance roadmap for your operations
We will map the frameworks your clients, regulators and tenders actually require, sequence them so evidence is shared, and quote a fixed fee.