From Regulatory Requirements to Voluntary Certifications in the Agricultural and Food Industry: the Case of Da Re

Safety, quality of products and attention for nutritional needs, requested by a healthy diet, are substantial features and at the same time aspects of great interest for companies working in the agricultural and food industry. This paper presents the case of the Da Re company, that makes bakery products for national and international markets. Beyond the application of the HACCP system, required by law, Da Re obtained also some voluntary certifications: ISO 9001:2000 (since 2002 to 2008), IFS (since 2009) and BRC (since 2012). The last ones, in particular, are functional to the strategic choice to launch a development plan in the UK and American markets. Da Re, by employing suitable indicators, is able to accurately monitor compliance of internal processes, suppliers' reliability and quality perceived by markets.