The Red Tractor assurance scheme has announced four practical measures designed to minimise the audit burden and eliminate unnecessary duplication for meat and poultry processors across the sector, following close engagement with industry stakeholders.

Developed to give businesses the option to make smarter use of existing certifications, the new proposals aim to streamline assurance processes while maintaining the high standards of robustness and confidence central to the Red Tractor brand.

The key measures

Joint RTMPP and BRCGS assessments

• Businesses holding both BRCGS Food Safety and Red Tractor Meat and Poultry Processing (RTMPP) certifications with the same certification body now have opportunities to undergo joint assessments.
• Red Tractor is contacting all RTMPP members to advise them of this opportunity and to assist businesses currently using different certification bodies in realising potential benefits.

Avoiding duplicating traceability assessments

• RTMPP members who are also Red Tractor licensees and participate in joint Red Tractor and BRCGS Food Safety assessments can opt out of the Traceability and Integrity module assessment within the Red Tractor scheme under specific conditions where duplication exists.

Reduced frequency of traceability challenges

• RTMPP-certified sites that also hold Red Tractor licenses can now reduce the frequency of their Traceability Challenges from annually to once every two years.
• Eligibility criteria: sites must be part of a Red Tractor licensed group, undergo a joint unannounced BRCGS and RTMPP assessment achieving a BRCGS grade between $AA^*-B^*$, grant Red Tractor permission to view their BRCGS report, and have zero BRCGS non-conformances related to traceability.

Review of pork scheme certification

• Red Tractor has eliminated the requirement for pork licensees to be certified against certain BMPA Quality Pork Charter modules and equivalent RTMPP pork quality modules, giving pork licensees the choice to lower their number of assessments while maintaining core assurance criteria.

Industry reception

The announcements have received strong backing from leading trade bodies representing the meat and poultry sectors.

John Powell, CEO of the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) welcomed the steps, noting that reducing duplication is a priority for the sector and praising the collaboration with Red Tractor to recognise where existing certifications already provide necessary assurance.

Richard Griffiths, chief executive of the British Poultry Council (BPC) highlighted that the options appropriately recognise the significant requirements poultry meat processors already meet, offering a more practical framework for managing assurance assessments.

Joanna King, head of partnerships and supply chain assurance at Red Tractor, said: “We’ve worked hard to identify meaningful ways for meat and poultry processors to reduce audit burden. These proposals, whilst not mandatory, are an important step in making assurance work more efficiently while continuing to deliver the robustness and confidence that sits at the heart of Red Tractor.”