Become a Certified Sustainable Beef Processor
Certify the sustainable practices in your beef processing facility, and be rewarded for your efforts.
Click on the expandable sections below to review the steps you need to take to become certified to the Sustainable Beef Processing Standard.
Check out these documents to see where your operation fits, and if you are ready to take the next step.
- Sustainable Beef Processing Standard
- Assurance Protocols - outlines the requirements and certification process.
- Chain of Custody Requirements - outlines the technical and administrative requirements for tracking cattle and beef through the supply chain, and available applicable claims about beef sourced from Certified Operations.
Where Food Comes From Inc. is the only CRSB-approved Certification Body for the Sustainable Beef Processing Standard at this time. More Certification Bodies may be added in future.
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Where Food Comes From Inc. |
Work with a CRSB-approved Certification Body (see next section) to request an audit.
- Work with your Certification Body to gather the necessary information to schedule and prepare for the audit
- Disclose to your Certification Body if you participate in other audited programs, and if so, specify what they are so they can all work together
- Determine a mutually agreed-upon date, time, fee and scope for the audit
- Certification Body provides necessary information required for the audit, including assigned auditor who will conduct the audit. Any real or perceived conflicts of interest are mitigated at this point. See CRSB Conflict of Interest Policy & Guidelines
- Prepare for your audit
The CRSB has defined minimum requirements for assessment to ensure all processing facilities, regardless of auditor selected, are evaluated using the same methods.
- On-Site Audit: The designated auditor conducts an on-site audit, assesses your facility's conformance to the Sustainable Beef Processing Standard and provides a written report to the Certification Body.
* Depending on your role in the supply chain, a Chain of Custody audit may be conducted simultaneously, if required.
- Review: The Certification Body reviews the audit report. Based on that review, the certification request is approved or denied and the audit report is provided to the processor.
- If approved, a certificate is issued to the processing facility
- If corrective actions are identified, you have the opportunity to correct and respond within the timeline laid out in the audit report
- Once corrective actions are resolved, a certificate is issued
- Certification: Once a certificate is issued, the facility is considered a Certified Operation for the duration of the certificate
Certification is maintained through on-site audits, records assessments and self-declarations. The Certification Body conducts a risk assessment based on an operation's initial audit findings and assigns an appropriate audit cycle.
Certification Bodies are responsible for ongoing assessments in accordance with the applicable audit cycle. Following each assessment, the Certification Body determines if the certificate will be renewed or withdrawn. The CRSB also reserves the right to withdraw certificates at their sole discretion.
The following considerations are taken into account when determining risk assignment:
- Performance and number of corrective actions on the following critical indicators:
- watershed health;
- manure control;
- food safety;
- worker health and safety;
- animal care, and
- crop input use
- Performance on previous assessments (if applicable)
For more information, review the CRSB Assurance Protocols.
Sustainability - a journey of continuous improvement.
The backbone of sustainability is continuous improvement. The Certified Sustainable Beef Framework intentionally includes three scoring levels to identify achievement and recognize processors who are committed to, and make progress on improvements aligned with the five principles of sustainability.
Entry Threshold:
Not yet meeting the requirements of an indicator required for certification.
Some improvement is required in order to be certified.
Level 1 - Achievement:
Basis for certification on EVERY indicator in the standard.
Although this level is the minimum requirement on each indicator for certification, the auditing process also provides valuable feedback to Certified Operations on their progress, and encourages continuous improvement.
Level 2 - Innovation and Level 3 - Excellence
The Innovation and Excellence levels in the certification scoring system are not required for certification, but serve to recognize significant improvements over time, and reward processors for continuous improvements.
Outcomes to meet Innovation (level 2) and Excellence (level 3) are outlined for each indicator in the standard.
As a CRSB Certified Operation, you are eligible to use the CRSB Certification Mark to recognize the investment you have made to demonstrating your sustainability, and to promote your processing facility's certification status with your customers, supply chain and the public.
You can also be featured on our 'Meet the Players' page.
Create a Certified Sustainable Profile
Request the Certification Mark and accompanying Certified Operation claim from your Certification Body.
For more information, review section 2.3.1 (page 18) of the Communications, Claims and Labelling Guide.
