4 Service providers

4.1.1 Charter approval, audit and certification of applicants and existing Charter participants are administered by BMPA approved service providers. Contact details can be found on the Quality Pork Charter application form and the BMPA Quality Pork Charter website.

4.1.2 To assure the quality of service support the BMPA shall set and monitor measurable KPIs for the service providers and performance assessment against these shall take place twice a year at a business review meeting.

4.1.3 Any costs relating to audits shall be agreed between the Charter participant and the service provider.

4.1.4 The service provider shall treat all information relating to Charter applicants and participants including audit reports, in the strictest confidence and shall not divulge this to any third party without the written permission of the Charter participant. However, the service provider shall respond to third parties who wish to confirm the certification status of any Charter participant. 

4.1.5 The decision of the service provider in all matters relating to the administration of the audit and certification process, subject to appeal, shall be final.

4.2.1 Charter participants are permitted to transfer from one BMPA approved service provider to another as long as there are no outstanding non-conformances with the existing service provider. To ensure a smooth transition without compromising the integrity of the Quality Pork Charter or the participant’s period of certification, the following transfer procedure shall be followed:

4.2.2 A formal request for transfer of service provider shall be made through the BMPA. The site shall hold a valid certificate of conformity against the BRC GFS Standard (minimum B grade) at the time of transfer, in addition to holding a valid Quality Pork Charter certificate of conformity aligned to the respective BMPA module. The scope of transfer may be extended to cover all BMPA modules at the site. If valid certificates are not supplied, the Charter participant shall need to apply as a new applicant and a certificate shall not be issued until an assessment has taken place and all the non-conformances closed off. 

4.2.3 Where a current service provider is contacted by a prospective service provider, the current service provider shall disclose all previous assessment and certification information for the new service provider to complete a pre-transfer review. A copy of the current service provider’s BMPA Quality Pork Charter conformance summary report shall be made available to the prospective service provider and all non-conformances including observations shall be closed out prior to any transfer. 

4.2.4 Additional information may be requested for the pre-transfer review including:

• Reasons for seeking the transfer
• Historical audit reports
• Any complaints made, and action taken
• Details of any previous and pending prosecutions. 

4.2.5 Once the transfer has been completed the Charter participant shall return the original Quality Pork Charter certificate of conformity to the relevant service provider. The Charter participant shall have no recourse to the service provider or the BMPA for a refund of audit fees already paid for certification. 

Note: Sites can only transfer once during a certification period.

4.2.6 In the event of a Charter participant obtaining BRC certification from an alternative service provider to that used for Charter certification, the following requirements shall apply:

• The announced surveillance audit shall be undertaken on an alternative day to the BRC audit.
• The Charter participant shall be required to forward a copy of their latest BRC audit report to the BMPA Quality Pork Charter service provider. 
• Where a critical or a major non-conformance is raised against a BRC GFS requirement, the participant shall inform the BMPA and the BMPA Quality Pork Charter service provider without delay. 
• If a non-conformance is raised against BRC GFS at the time of the BMPA Quality Pork Charter audit, the previous BRC report shall be reviewed to ascertain whether the non-compliance is a repeat non-compliance and if this has been satisfactorily closed out. 

The BMPA Quality Pork Charter service provider reserves the right to charge for costs incurred in any administration relating to non-conformance raised against the BRC GFS standard.