Standards & Certifications
B6 Standards - BÉSICS® Assessed
B6 is our BÉSICS® 6 step quality program. Using a combination of common sense and 3rd party certifications, we create a transparent standard between us and you, so that you know what we’re doing together when you support BÉSICS® products. Our standards assess the full product life cycle, from material sourcing, manufacturing and worker health and safety, food safety, to compostability and carbon footprinting. Read more about our B6 standards on our house brand website at besics.ca/b6_standards
Why we care: At BSIbio, we strive to provide the highest quality products, while ensuring consumer safety. Through our B6 Standards for our house brand BESICS, we review and reinforce our dedication to quality and safety, while being open and transparent to you.
Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI)
BPI is a third party composting standard developed by the Biodegradable Product Institute and the U.S. Composting Council. The standard is designed to certify packaging products that and compost and biodegrade completely and safely in municipal and commercial compost facilities. BPI certified products are tested to the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards D6400 or D6868 standards.
For more information, visit BPI Website
Why we care: It is our goal to provide you 100% compostable packaging. Through BPI certification, we can guarantee you that our packaging is as safe for the environment as it is safe for you and your customers.
ASTM Testing Standards
The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) has two standards which relate to compostability. ASTM D6400, the compostability standard for products made of plastics and bio-plastics, and ASTM D6868, which refers to compostability of plastic films or coatings attached to compostable products. A plastic under the ASTM standards is considered compostable if its degradation through biological processes yields carbon dioxide, water, inorganic compounds and biomass, at a rate consistent with other organic compostable materials and without toxic residues that could inhibit or negatively affect plant growth.
For more information, visit ASTM homepage
Why we care: We are dedicated to housing only compostable packaging. Through ASTM certifications, our products can be tested and proven to be certified compostable to an international standard.
Bureau de Normalisation du Quebec (BNQ)
The Bureau de Normalisation du Quebec (BNQ) is a Canadian standards-creating body which has created the CAN/BNQ 0017-088 Standards for compostable bags and packaging products. This standard helps ensure that plastics are compostable and do not negatively impact the compost or environment itself. We value the BNQ certification when available on products.
For more information, visit https://www.compostable.info
Why we care: We value having completely compostable packaging to supply to you, the consumer. The BNQ Standards provide an avenue to reinforce our goal of 100% compostable products that are safe for our shared environment.
British Retail Consortium
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has a global safety and quality certification program that facilitates standardization of quality, safety, operational criteria and manufacturers’ obligations. These include requirements and safeguards for the management and processing of packaging material to reduce health risks of workers, establish efficient packaging operations and meet customers’ specifications. We accethird-partyrty certifications from suppliers that are issued by the BRC as confirmation of their compliance with
Why we care: Both safety and quality through all parts of manufacturing are important to us. We preferentially work with manufacturers that provide quality products while maintaining safety for both you and their workers.
Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
A governmental regulatory body, CFIA regulates commercial products. By creating regulatory systems and maintaining a ‘safe ingredients’ list they protect public health and safety by controlling what can be sold and labeled as a food contact item. They do not submit certifications but provide the guidelines for product development. We preferentially partner with suppliers who voluntarily comply with CFIA requirements.
For more information, visit CFIA Website
Why we care: We guarantee the safety of our products to our community, and the CFIA guidelines help us navigate our supply chain decisions to ensure your health and safety.
DIN
DIN Certco is a German company which issues certifications for products tested to meet the European standard EN 13432. EN13432 is an internationally recognized standard used to attest to the compostability of plastics. There are two more optional stages for certification, depending on the product type and scale of composting (home or industrial). To meet the requirements of these standards, DIN includes tests on chemical characterization, biodegradability, disintegration, quality of compost, and toxicity tests.
For more information, visit the DIN compostability page
Why we care: BSIbio aims to provide 100% compostable products, and DIN Certco provides one of the global certification avenues to ensure the products we provide to you are compostable where accepted.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The FDA is the review board in the USA which reviews products and ingredients to assess for any obvious concern to public health. They regulate how substances and products can be categorized, labeled, and provide a “safe” list of ingredients for items coming into contact with food. They do not submit certifications but provide the guidelines for product development.
For more information, visit FDA Website
Why we care: We are committed to quality and safety of all our products. The FDA guidelines for safety of food contact ensure the products we provide meet our and your food packaging needs.
ISO
14001 / 9001 / 2200:2005
The International Organisation for Standardization develops and publishes International Standards to guide external certification bodies in their roles of administering certifications. ISO standards “ensure that products and services are safe, reliable, and of good quality.” ISO itself does not issue certifications; instead these are carried out by independent, external bodies. When assessing supplier’s commitment to safety in manufacturing and safety for food contact, we accept third party certification that their systems comply with ISO standards. Various suppliers we work with are certified to: ISO 14001, an environmental management standard, ISO 9001, a standard that verifies quality management, or ISO2200:2005, a standard for food safety.
For more information, visit the ISO Homepage
Why we care: BSIbio builds strong relationships with our manufacturers and suppliers. We prefer to work with those who follow standards like those from ISO and who focus on the safety of their own employees, as well as the safety of their environment.
Hazard Analysis and Critical Point System
HAACP is the world’s most recognized and accepted method of assuring food safety developed by the World Health Organization (WHO). Its principles apply to the product chain from source to store to ensure that no foreign materials enter the food chain. When this applies to BSIbio’s products, it means that the manufacturer has undergone HAACP training and employs methods to eliminate risk to the consumer throughout creation of the product and has achieved certification to prove this.
For more information, visit HAACP
Why we care: one of BSIbios core values is the health and safety of the consumer. As health and safety are one of our upmost priorities, we utilize HAACP to find manufacturers that share that value. HAACP trained manufacturers can guarantee your safety from start to finish.
