Every imported food we handle is made in a plant that has been audited by a third party. This page explains what each of the certifications shown on our brand pages actually guarantees. All of them are held by the manufacturer, and copies of the certificates are available on request.
Food safety management standards
These standards audit the way the plant itself is run. Those recognised under GFSI (the Global Food Safety Initiative) are sometimes specified as a condition of trade by large retailers and restaurant chains.
| HACCP | Hazards — microbiological, physical and chemical — are analysed at every step from goods-in to despatch, critical control points are set, and those points are monitored continuously. The procedure set out by the Codex Alimentarius Commission is the international standard. In Japan, HACCP has been mandatory for essentially all food businesses since June 2021. |
|---|---|
| GMP | Good Manufacturing Practice. Equipment, working procedures and staff hygiene are documented so that the same quality can be produced consistently. It is the foundation HACCP is built on. |
| GHPs | Good Hygiene Practices. Cleaning, maintenance, pest control, staff hygiene and the other general controls that HACCP sits on top of. |
| FSSC 22000 | ISO 22000 (food safety management systems) combined with prerequisite programmes and additional requirements. One of the GFSI-recognised schemes. |
| BRCGS | A food safety standard originating with the British Retail Consortium. A GFSI-recognised scheme that retail buyers in Europe and the Middle East often specify as a condition of trade. Audit results are expressed as a grade. |
| FDA facility registration | Registration of a food facility with the US Food and Drug Administration. It is a prerequisite for exporting to the United States rather than a certification as such, but it is a useful sign that the plant already exports. |
Note: HACCP, GMP and GHPs are methods and codes of practice. In normal use a third party such as SGS or TÜV audits against them and issues a certificate. Where we know the auditing body, we show it alongside the certification on the brand page.
How to read the grades
BRCGS is the only one of these certifications that carries a grade. HACCP, GMP, GHPs, FSSC 22000, HALAL, Kosher and Vegan are pass-or-not certifications with no concept of a grade.
BRCGS grades
The grade is determined by the number and severity of the non-conformities found at audit. From the top, the scale runs AA+ / AA / A+ / A / B+ / B / C+ / C / D+ / D. A grade of A or above is generally taken as the level at which trade proceeds without question.
| AA, AA+ | No critical non-conformities and few minor findings. The top of the scale. |
|---|---|
| A, A+ | No critical non-conformities and minor findings within a set limit. Large retailers commonly set this as their floor. |
| B, B+ | At most one critical non-conformity. Corrective action is expected. |
| C and D grades | Multiple critical non-conformities. The interval to the next audit is shortened. |
A plus sign indicates an unannounced audit — the auditor arrives without notice, which is rated more highly than an announced audit. Between two sites both graded A, A+ is the stronger result.
The issue of the standard itself is also worth checking. The current version is Issue 9, published in August 2022.
What to look at where there is no grade
For everything other than BRCGS, the following tell you how much the certification is worth. Where we have been able to confirm them, we show them under the certification name on the brand page.
- Auditing body — SGS, TÜV NORD CERT and so on. Who carried out the audit.
- Standard applied — for HACCP, whether it follows Codex CXC 1-1969 (2020), for example.
- Scope — which products and processes the certification covers. A plant may hold a certification, but it means nothing if your item is outside its scope.
- Validity and next audit — whether it is being maintained.
Note: where no grade is shown on a brand page, either the certification has no grade, or we have not been able to confirm the certificate ourselves. We are happy to ask the manufacturer if you need it for a listing decision.
Religious and dietary requirements
These certifications bear directly on who you can sell to. They come up for inbound tourism and for operators serving the general public — hotels, airports and universities.
| HALAL | Certification that a product complies with Islamic law. It covers not only ingredients but production lines, storage and transport. The certifying body differs by country: JAKIM, a government agency, in Malaysia; NIHT in South Africa. JAKIM is widely regarded as one of the most internationally accepted certifying bodies. |
|---|---|
| MeSTI | A food safety certification issued by Malaysia’s Ministry of Health (Makanan Selamat Tanggungjawab Industri). It is a requirement for manufacturing and exporting food from Malaysia. |
| Kosher | Certification that a product meets Jewish dietary law. OU (the Union of Orthodox Synagogues) is the largest certifying body in the world. |
| Vegan | Certification that no animal-derived ingredients are used and no animal testing has taken place. Those shown on our brand pages are certified by The Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom. |
Certifications by brand
As at August 2026. We list only what we have been able to confirm from manufacturer documentation.
| Lemonilo (Indonesia) | BRCGS (Issue 9, Grade A, announced audit, TÜV NORD CERT) / HALAL |
|---|---|
| LongBeach (Thailand) | FSSC 22000 / HACCP (Codex) / GHPs (Codex) / HALAL |
| VINUT (Vietnam) | BRCGS / FSSC 22000 / HACCP (Codex) / GMP / FDA facility registration<br>Note: the BRCGS grade is unconfirmed, as we do not hold the certificate. |
| Giraf (South Africa) | Vegan (The Vegetarian Society of the UK) / Kosher (OU) / HALAL (NIHT) |
| MLfood (Philippines) | HACCP (SGS, to Codex CXC 1-1969:2020) / GMP (SGS) |
| Aducktive (Malaysia) | HALAL (JAKIM) / HACCP / GMP / MeSTI |
| Pantai (Thailand) | To be confirmed |
| Thai Coco (Thailand) | To be confirmed |
| Pigeon (Thailand) | To be confirmed |
“To be confirmed” does not mean the manufacturer holds no certification. It means we have not yet seen the certificate ourselves. If you need it for a listing decision, we will ask the manufacturer.
Documents we can provide
We supply the paperwork you need for a meeting or a listing review.
- Copies of each certification
- Ingredient list
- Process flow diagram
- Certificate of analysis (COA)
- A sample of the Japanese-language label (compliant with the Food Labelling Act)
At import we file the notification required under the Food Sanitation Act and, where necessary, carry out quarantine or voluntary testing before clearing customs.
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