Yum! food safety supplier audits by DNV

At DNV we are all geared up to support Yum! suppliers. As 2024 gets closer, we are seeing that more suppliers are getting in touch with requests for support, training, awareness and certification audits. To help you out, here you can find more information on how to start your journey!  We in DNV support more than 10,000 food and beverage companies across from farm to fork, including transportation and logistics, with their certification needs. So, we are in a great place to help you.

The Yum! requirement

YUM!’s timeline for suppliers to achieve certification or assessment is:

• End of 2024 for all risk 1, 2 and 3A and 3B suppliers.
• End of 2026 for risk 3C suppliers.

The first of these deadlines for the food packaging, storage and distribution organisations is now fast approaching.  

31 December 2024 is the date by which your certificate needs to be in hand.  Be aware that the certification process can take up to 3 months from the end of your audit to getting your certification in hand.

Before embarking in your certification journey, we recommend the following steps:

• What scheme best suits your operational and business needs. Below you can find guidance and information on how to choose your scheme.
• Contact DNV to proceed with certification and get access to free self-assessment tools available to support your decision-making process and help you assess your audit readiness.
• Provide the information needed for us to calculate the audit duration and assign a qualified auditor. Consequently, we will also agree on date for the audit to commence.

To be ready by 31 December 2024, it is recommended that:

• Agree on audit date by 1 September 2024, at the very latest.
• After onsite audit 28 days for correction are needed.
• Allow for up to 60 days for the certification decision.

Knowing that it takes time to implement a compliant food system, it is recommended that you star sooner rather than later.

How to get started?

The requirements have been communicated by Yum! to all suppliers. To be compliant, there are two options depending upon your YUM! risk categorisation and site maturity:

• Certification to the GFSI recognised food safety scheme.
• Global markets entry level scheme.

This is not that different from what you already know now. For companies just starting their food safety system journey, it may be opportune to start with the global markets entry level schemes.  However, thereafter, you should continually evaluate and consider moving to a full food safety scheme.

The different schemes

Suppliers must replace the YUM! food safety and distribution audits with certification to a GFSI recognised scheme.

GFSI recognized food safety schemes:

• BRCGS Global Standard for Food Safety
• IFS Food
• FSSC 22000
• SQF Code

To support suppliers on their journey to certification, YUM! have incorporated into their supplier management programme acceptance of the entry level programmes associated with the nominated

GFSI recognized standards.

Global markets entry level schemes:

• BRCGS START! - START! | BRCGS
• IFS Global Markets Foods IFS Database - IFS Global Markets Food version 3 is now released!
• FSSC Development Program - FSSC 22000 Development Program
• SQF Fundamental Program - SQF Fundamentals Program - Safe Quality Food Institute

Companies beginning their journey with the entry level programmes should continually evaluate when it is opportune to move to the full food safety scheme. If you are not sure where to start, DNV’s auditors are happy to help you evaluate what may be best for your food safety journey.

Your certification journey with DNV

Becoming certified is a process. Often it starts with a requirement from a customer and then continues from compliance to continual improvement. The journey starts long before you apply for certification.

At each stage of the process, DNV’s local project managers can support and guide your journey. Remember that you also have scheme owner documents and tools available in the YUM! library of documents. (Note. Go to the YUM! Supplier Resource Library accessible via TrueView, log in and select training, then access the Resource Library.)

The certification process takes time. When implementing a proper food safety system, there are no short-cuts. A thorough approach at the outset makes for an efficient certification process in the end. To meet the YUM! deadlines, it is advisable that you start planning now and can progress at a reasonable pace. This avoids a last-minute race against the deadline.

DNV currently works with over 6000 suppliers worldwide for their certification and assessment needs. We regularly offer insight and run informative webinars. And all our customers get free access to our digital platforms developed to support you before, during and after the audit.