Thomas Ridley improves to an AA grade in BRC Global Standard

Thomas Ridley has seen its British Retail Consortium Global Standard (BRCGS) for Food Storage and Distribution boosted from a B to an AA grade.

Thomas Ridley is part of the Caterfood Buying Group and supplies a wide range of foodservice customers across the hospitality, healthcare and education sectors. The company also has a large e-commerce division, shipping bulk food and drink orders across the UK.

Leading the project to improve its BRC grade were operations director Mark Murphy, logistics manager Aaron Letch, and compliance administrator Jo Jackson.

Murphy commented: “Last year was our first time applying for this certification, having previously held ISO 9001, and we were thrilled to pass with a B first time. To surpass that this year and achieve a double A pass has taken a lot of work, fine tuning of processes, and attention to detail to demonstrate that we’re really on top of everything and doing everything right. Jo and Aaron in particular have shown outstanding focus and dedication to this project, which has led to this impeccable result.

“There is no higher operational standard in this industry, and everyone here has done a brilliant job at consistently and professionally following all of the processes and training required to meet, uphold and improve within the 10 areas of food storage and distribution safety that the BRCGS audit covers. We are immensely proud to serve our customers with the highest possible standards available within this industry and look forward to maintaining this grade for years to come.”

Thomas Ridley employs almost 200 people at its site on the Rougham Industrial Estate in Bury St Edmunds. In June, the company launched Ridley’s Local, a faster, dedicated new service just for businesses within five miles of the Suffolk town.