Results are the only thing that counts

Roland van der Post
Managing Director, GMP+ International

At the ‘birth’ of GMP+ International in 1992, ‘being the biggest’ was never discussed. Following several incidents with contaminated feed, only one thing mattered to the sector: taking concrete steps to make the production of feed safer. And that's what we have thrown all our efforts into over the past 30 years, together with the sector. Not in order to grow (GMP+ International is not-for-profit), but in order to bring Feed Safety Worldwide closer.

Making progress

Fortunately, we can observe that we have been on the right track for many years. Leading companies increasingly expect suppliers and service providers to conform to the scheme. As a result, an ever larger part of the international feed chain is certified. This includes not only production companies but also businesses involved in collection, trade, storage, transhipment and transport. This chain approach, in which companies only do business with firms that also have GMP+ (or equivalent) certification, is resulting in a chain that is becoming ever more robust.

In the early years, the scheme was still largely reactive. Thanks to the introduction of HACCP into the scheme, feed companies are now working more proactively than ever before. And if contaminations do take place, thanks to the Early Warning System they are quickly detected and nipped in the bud. Although incidents can never be completely ruled out, the sector has been spared major incidents for the past 15 years – and we all deserve a pat on the back for that.

Staying focused

But past performance offers no guarantees for the future. For this reason, we at GMP+ International are increasingly focusing on knowledge sharing. This is based on the idea that if you understand why particular precautions are necessary, you are more likely to take them seriously and comply with them.

Via the GMP+ Academy we, together with our affiliated partners, provide professional training materials and courses for feed companies worldwide. This online platform, which is accessible to all free of charge, makes it easy for businesses to improve knowledge and awareness in the workplace. We also continue to proactively seek dialogue with the sector in order to keep the scheme appropriate, workable and future-proof.

We are proud of what we have achieved as a sector over the past 30 years. A true feed safety culture has been established, which has demonstrably led to a reduction in the number of incidents. In the future, we need to stay focused and remain open to new developments and innovations. Because despite all the progress we have made, feed safety will always remain a ‘work in progress’.