Standards Matrix

All food businesses have a responsibility to make sure that the food they  produce is safe. Public procurement bodies need to be confident that the food they procure meets food safety and hygiene standards and legislation. This is especially important when they working with high risk/ more vulnerable groups such as young children, the elderly and hospital patients. They  therefore require their suppliers to participate in recognised Quality Assurance Schemes, for example the British Retail Consortium and the Red Tractor assurance schemes.

Farming Connect Horticulture has developed a Small Grower Supplier Standards – the accreditation required by small growers who supply their produce into the public procurement market. 

There is significant overlap between the requirements of the Small Grower Supplier Standards and other schemes including the organic standards, LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) and SALSA (Safe And Local Supplier Approval). 

Because of the cross-over between the requirements in the different Standards, a ‘cross-compliance matrix’ has been created that allows growers to avoid duplication in terms of the accreditation process, thus reducing the administrative burden involved. The Matrix itself shows the overlap between the Standards, and would be used by inspectors to help ensure any criteria already met by the grower under pre-existing standards would not be re-assessed whilst assessing for the Small Growers Standards.