The number of companies signing up for the Fertiliser Industry Assurance Scheme (FIAS) has risen dramatically since the beginning of the year, with the number of certified organisations now totalling 180 - up from 125 companies at the end of April. There are a further 269 applications currently being processed, signifying strong progress towards full supply chain assurance across the fertiliser industry.
FIAS is certified by Product Authentication International (PAI), a leading certification body specialising in food safety in the food and agricultural supply chain. In the interests of auditing efficiency and reducing cost for participants, PAI works with a range of other inspection bodies to undertake combined audits, for example in connection with the following standards: TASCC, UFAS Compound Feed, UFAS Merchants, ISO 9001/22000, FEMAS and Farm schemes.
Feedback on the PAI audit process from participants has been positive, with around 80% of respondents rating the clarity of the FIAS standard as 'good' or 'excellent' and over 95% of respondents rating the inspector's understanding of their business as 'good' or 'excellent'.
Farmer-controlled agrisupply business Farmway, based in the northeast, has recently achieved FIAS certification. "To comply with FIAS has been a relatively straightforward exercise," said Tony Simpson, Farmway's Fertiliser Commercial Manager. He added, "Our industry needs to show it takes fertiliser security and traceability seriously, and that it can be trusted to manage fertiliser responsibly. FIAS certification goes a long way towards achieving this."
John Kelley, Managing Director of Agricultural Industries Confederation Services Ltd, said: "FIAS was created to cover the fertiliser industry supply chain and the number of certification applications received to date is a clear indication of solid process in delivering the level of security which Government demands. It is vital that the industry achieves full chain compliance to help prevent security incidents and to avoid the imposition of more cumbersome and costly legislation."
