Legal requirements and buyer requirements are different things
This distinction is the whole subject in one line, and it is where most confusion starts.
Legal requirements are set by the importing country. You cannot trade without meeting them, and no certificate substitutes for them. In the EU that means a food safety management system built on HACCP principles, compliance with maximum residue levels for pesticides, limits on contaminants such as lead and cadmium, plant-health clearance, traceability, and correct labelling.
Buyer requirements are set by your customer. They are not law — but a European supermarket will simply not open an account without them, which makes them just as binding in practice. GlobalGAP and a recognised food safety standard are the usual gatekeepers.
A supplier can be perfectly legal and still unsellable to a retailer. A supplier can also hold an impressive certificate wall and still ship a load that breaches MRLs. Check both.
Farm level: GlobalGAP and GRASP
GLOBALG.A.P. certifies good agricultural practice on the farm — how the crop was grown, what was sprayed and when, water use, worker hygiene, record keeping. For European retail it is close to non-negotiable, particularly in Northern Europe. If a supplier does not have it, they are not in the running for supermarket business, whatever else they hold.
GRASP is a social add-on module assessed alongside GlobalGAP, covering workers' rights and conditions. It is cheap relative to the base certification and increasingly expected by major retailers, so its absence is a fair question to ask.
Packhouse and factory level: BRCGS, IFS, FSSC 22000
These certify the facility where product is handled, processed and packed. All three are recognised by the Global Food Safety Initiative and are broadly equivalent in rigour, but markets have preferences:
| BRCGS | Originated with British retailers and remains the expectation in the UK. Detailed requirements on hygiene, fabrication, foreign-body control and product safety. |
|---|---|
| IFS | Dominant in Germany and France. Equivalent scope, different audit structure and scoring. |
| FSSC 22000 | Built on ISO 22000 plus sector prerequisites. Widely recognised, common with manufacturers who already run ISO systems. |
Practical takeaway: match the certificate to the destination market. A supplier holding IFS but not BRCGS is well placed for German retail and will face questions from a UK supermarket — not because the standard is weaker, but because the buyer's own audit framework expects the other name.
The ISO family, and what it does not tell you
ISO certificates are management-system standards. ISO 9001 covers quality management, ISO 22000 food safety, ISO 14001 environmental management, ISO 45001 occupational health and safety.
They demonstrate that a company runs documented, audited processes, which is genuinely worth knowing. But ISO 9001 is not a food safety certificate, and none of them substitutes for GlobalGAP at farm level or a GFSI-recognised standard at facility level. Treat them as supporting evidence of a well-organised operation rather than as market access.
HACCP: the baseline, not a badge
HACCP — Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points — is a method, not a certificate. Under EU food law, operating a food safety system based on HACCP principles is a legal obligation, not an optional extra. Every credible standard above incorporates it.
So “we are HACCP certified” is a slightly odd claim. What you want to see is HACCP embedded inside a recognised, independently audited certification. On its own it is the floor.
Social and ethical: SMETA and Sedex
SMETA, delivered through the Sedex platform, audits labour standards, health and safety, environment and business ethics. It is among the most widely used social audit methodologies in the world and is effectively required across European supermarket supply chains.
Note what it is: an audit report, not a pass/fail certificate. Ask to see the report and the corrective action plan, not merely confirmation that an audit happened.
Market-access certifications: Halal, Kosher, organic
Halal and Kosher matter less for plain frozen vegetables than for anything processed, but they open specific markets and are frequently requested by Gulf and Israeli buyers, and by manufacturers whose finished product carries the mark. They are inexpensive to maintain for a produce exporter and worth having.
Organic is a different proposition: a genuine conversion period of two to three years, annual inspection, and a separate certificate of inspection for each consignment. Real premium, real commitment. Do not expect a conventional supplier to produce organic product at short notice.
The risk that certificates do not cover
Here is the uncomfortable part. The most common reason a container of fresh produce is rejected at the EU border is not a missing certificate — it is pesticide residues above the legal maximum. Of roughly 600 RASFF notifications recorded for fresh fruit and vegetables in 2024, around 85% concerned pesticides.
A GlobalGAP certificate says the farm has a system for managing crop protection. It does not guarantee that this particular lot, sprayed by this particular grower in this particular season, is within your destination's MRLs — and those limits change. Lower limits for acetamiprid on certain fruits took effect in 2025, and residues legal one year can be non-compliant the next.
Protect yourself with three habits: ask for recent residue analysis on the exact product, make MRL compliance at destination an explicit contractual term, and test independently on the first shipments of any new supplier relationship.
How to verify a certificate is real
- Get the certificate number, not a picture of a logo.
- Check it in the issuing body's public database. GlobalGAP, BRCGS and the certification bodies behind ISO all maintain searchable registers.
- Read the scope. A certificate covers named products, sites and activities. One covering “packing of citrus” does not cover a frozen vegetable line, even at the same company.
- Check the dates — issue, expiry and recertification.
- Check the name matches the legal entity issuing your invoice. Traders sometimes present a producer's certificate as their own.
Certificates versus shipping documents
One last distinction worth keeping straight. Certifications describe how a company operates and are renewed annually. Shipping documents describe one consignment and travel with it — the phytosanitary certificate, health certificate, certificate of origin and EUR.1. A supplier can be immaculately certified and still hold up your container because a phytosanitary certificate was issued with the wrong container number. Our importing guide lists the full document set.
You can see the standards we hold, and request the current certificate pack, on our certifications page.