High standards

Our benchmarking teams regularly assess products according to a range of criteria to ensure that our high standards are being maintained.

All Iceland own label products are sourced from approved suppliers at approved sites. All our suppliers must be certified to the current British Retail Consortium Global Standards (BRCGS) Standard for Food Safety, or an equivalent GFSI standard (Global Food Safety Initiative). They are regularly audited by independent inspectors under the unannounced scheme against these standards and are required to achieve BRCGS Grade AA+, A+, and B+ or an equivalent rating if audited under an equivalent GFSI standard.

All of our manufacturing sites undergo a risk-based Iceland approval process which is operated by our Iceland Technical Team and Iceland’s third party, independent technical service provider. Manufacturing sites are also visited by Iceland appointed Technical representative to monitor first production runs, where a risk assessment or product complexity deems this to be needed

Additionally, Iceland has a set of supplier technical policies with which all our own label suppliers must comply.

Iceland expects all suppliers to respect the human rights and ensure welfare of their employees, and to take all necessary measures to guard against modern slavery and human trafficking in their own supply chains.

Iceland expects all suppliers to be working towards and complying with “The ETI Base Code” in addition to any labour laws where the site/supplier is located in the world.

The base code is derived from International Labour Organisation (ILO) core conventions and covers the below 9 key areas:

  1. Employment is freely chosen
  2. Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining is respected
  3. Working conditions are safe and hygienic
  4. Child labour shall not be used
  5. Living wages are paid
  6. Working hours are not excessive
  7. No discrimination is practised
  8. Regular employment is provided
  9. No harsh or inhumane treatment is allowed

Iceland is a member of Sedex, one of the world’s leading online platforms used to manage responsible and sustainable business practices, and responsible sourcing. This supports the oversight and improvement of working conditions in global supply chains.

The business aims to ensure that the working conditions of people, working for and within the supply base, meet relevant international standards. All suppliers and manufacturing sites producing for Iceland must register on Sedex, and make provision that they are linked on the system and visible to the correct Iceland contact, to be able to share information with Iceland in the appropriate manner.  This includes completing all self-assessment questionnaires and ensuring that any associated audits that are required are in place and up to date.