APPE scores market first with pan European BRC certification

APPE (Artenius PET Packaging Europe) is the first leading PET producer to gain the BRC/IOP Global Standard for Packaging and Packaging Materials across all of its European plants, underlining its commitment to safeguarding quality in the food industry. Developed by retailers, The BRC (British Retail Consortium) Global Standards are a leading global product safety and quality certification programme used by 14,000 certificated suppliers in over 100 countries. The BRC/IOP Packaging and Packaging Materials Standard forms part of a suite of four industry-leading technical standards which includes Food Safety, regarded as the benchmark for best practice in the food industry, in addition to Consumer Products and Storage and Distribution, enabling certification of the complete supply chain. BRC Global Standards are tried and trusted by leading global retailers to deliver effective supply chain management, legal compliance and value for money. Certification to the Standard verifies technical and functional performance, aids manufacturers’ fulfilment of legal obligations, and helps provide protection to the end consumer. APPE’s European-wide certification programme encompasses the company’s plants in the UK, France, Spain, Belgium, Germany and Turkey. The company is the largest European PET producer and manufactures PET preforms, and single and two stage containers, and is also a pioneer of PET recycling in Europe with a dedicated recycling plant in Beaune, France. To achieve certification, all APPE’s plants were independently audited and current systems and practices, from factory hygiene to quality and the technical aspects of packaging, were assessed against the requirements of the Standard. Billy Jansen as Group QSE & Sustainability Manager at APPE who led the project commented “Many European & North American retailers and global brand owners will only consider business with suppliers who have gained certification to the appropriate BRC Global Standard. We felt it was vital to show our capability as a leading supplier to the industry by gaining this important accreditation across all our sites which provides further stimulus for the continual improvement of our processes and products.”