Atlante confirms BRCGS Global Standard for Agents and Brokers AA+ grade and IFS Broker Higher Level at 96.97% in 2026

In 2026, Atlante confirmed the highest grade and level for two of the main international food safety certifications for operators in the sector: BRCGS Global Standard for Agents and Brokers, with an AA+ grade, and IFS Broker, with Higher Level at 96.97%.

The result follows an unannounced audit, a mode chosen by Atlante from 2024 onwards, after previously undergoing announced audits. It consolidates a certification journey that began voluntarily in 2018.

“Announcing a result like this is always a pleasure, but what makes this recognition truly meaningful is the journey behind it. When we started this path in 2018, choosing GFSI-recognised certification was not yet a common practice for companies operating like ours. That step was far from a given; maintaining it year after year through unannounced audits is even less so. Achieving and maintaining the highest grade and level over time is a result we are proud of, because it belongs to the whole organisation,” says Natasha Linhart, CEO of Atlante.

The certification journey: from 2018 to today

Atlante’s certification journey began in December 2018. At the time, no customer required it as a prerequisite. The company chose to structure its processes in order to give verifiable recognition to something Atlante was already doing.

The objective was not simply to obtain a certification, but to activate an internal process of continuous improvement and be assessed every year by an independent body.

“It is not enough to say: we do it and we have a system. You need an external body to come and validate it every year,” explains Enrico Santi, Quality Assurance Manager at Atlante.

The work did not stop at documentation. It required a real change in process management, in the way responsibilities are assigned, distributed and tracked.

As Atlante prepared for its first certification audit, the company decided to assess the level of implementation through a pre-audit carried out by an external organisation. This helped highlight both positive aspects and areas for improvement.

After more than a year of preparation, the first official audit took place in June 2020, following delays linked to Covid. Atlante achieved an AA grade for BRCGS, the highest grade available for an announced audit.

In 2022, Atlante added the IFS Broker certification. In the following years, the company chose to move to unannounced audits, indicated by the “+” symbol in the BRCGS certification.

The two standards: BRCGS and IFS Broker

Atlante holds both of the main GFSI-recognised certifications for the sector. The two international standards have different market orientations and complement each other. Holding both allows the company to work with customers and markets that may be more familiar with one standard than the other, making it easier to start and develop commercial relationships.

The two audits are carried out together, with two separate auditors.

Some differences in the detailed requirements mean that specific activities and evidence are required for each standard. These include the management of product suppliers, transport and storage providers, whether GFSI-certified or not, as well as fraud management, traceability and packaging management.

Both standards require rigorous supplier qualification and maintenance processes, based on procedures, coded forms, operating instructions and technical specifications.

A system with this level of detail is measured continuously through annual audits.

How the unannounced audit works

After the first three years, Atlante moved to the unannounced audit mode. The auditor can arrive on any day within a four-month window.

There is no preparation period and no possibility of mobilising the system ahead of the assessment.

Passing an unannounced audit requires processes to be maintained as part of daily operating standards, rather than prepared for a known deadline. It also has a clear organisational impact: shared responsibility extends across the whole company, with particular attention to the areas involved in food safety management.

The working method must hold up regardless of who is present and what is happening on that day, because there is no way to know when the audit will take place.

The 2026 result confirms this approach: the points raised by the auditors are increasingly an invitation to improve an already consolidated system.

Operational implications for the supply chain

Compliance with certification requirements has turned food safety into a structured and verified method within Atlante’s daily work.

Internal verification takes place every three months through quarterly HACCP reviews and the internal audit programme covering all requirements. External verification is carried out once a year across the entire system.

For every supplier and every product, Atlante applies a qualification and maintenance process based on defined food safety criteria. This includes audits, the presence of GFSI-recognised certifications, qualification questionnaires, fraud management, analytical product control plans, traceability tests, recall and withdrawal tests, complaints and non-conformity management, and internal panels.

Complaint and non-conformity management plays a particularly important role. Registration must take place within 48 hours, and the process through to closure must be documented and communicated to both the customer and the consumer.

Open reports are reviewed every week. Every quarter, Atlante analyses reporting trends in order to identify areas for improvement.

During the year, around 300 visits are carried out to product and storage suppliers, of which approximately 100 are defined in the audit plan at the beginning of the year.

These are only some examples of a structured food safety management method. It is precisely the compliance of this method with the requirements that the certification body comes to verify.

For those working in grocery retail and managing private label ranges, this translates into one concrete benefit: fewer uncontrolled variables along the supply chain.

“Procedures and quality management systems do not replace people’s expertise and experience. Working within a shared and verified method brings out the best of what each person already contributes, with the added value of a common approach,” concludes Santi.