How To Get Animal Welfare Approved (AGW) Certified For A Food or Beverage Product

Getting your food or beverage product the Animal Welfare Approved (APW) certification to reach the global community can be done in these six practical steps. Let’s get to it. Shall we?

Reading The Relevant Standards

The Animal Welfare Approved certification covers a wide range of food products. Getting the standards would help you read through the section that involves your food and beverage product. Interestingly, all sections have varying standards and requirements for applicants looking to get AGW certified. An in-depth study of the standards hints at the exact requirements, process, and documentation needed for the AGW certification. 

Sort The Documents & Apply Online

The process of getting your Animal Welfare Approved certification involves turning over a series of documents from your previous operations. We believe the certification body is interested in your activities’ legitimacy as claimed in your application forms. Ensure you have the necessary documents at your disposal pending the online registration and audit after that. You have the option of registering on the website, via mail, or request for papers to be sent to your firm.

Prepare For The Eligibility Coordinator’s Visit

After seven days of reviewing your application for the AGW certification, you should get a mail prompting you to audit your production site. Note that the mail or coordinator’s visit only comes when your application passes the certification standard. After confirming the visit, you should ensure your staff and operators are briefed using the relevant standards you downloaded earlier. The details of the visit and expectations are all in the standards document.

The Audit Proper

For the AGW certification, the audit is considered to be the highlight of screening for qualified food or beverage products. The audit is conducted by an eligibility coordinator whose job is to screen your facility, staff, and operator adhering to the AGW certification standards. If, for some reason, your product materials or equipment contradicts any section of the standards, you’d be offered a one-time opportunity to fix it. The audit takes days and sometimes weeks.

After The Audit

After the audit’s strenuous process, applicants have to wait 4-6 weeks for the reviewing of the results and report. Once the coordinator sends the report from your product audit, you’d be updated with the review process’s details. Unlike most food processing certifications, the AGW isn’t a pass/fail program. This means you can make changes and send in your complaints during the review process. Your complaints would be attended to accordingly.

Sign The Certification Affidavit 

The signing of the certification affidavit is the final stage of getting your food or beverage product AGW certified. After the audit report has been reviewed and approved, the program sends a copy of the certification affidavit to qualified applicants. You’re expected to sign and return the certification affidavit to receive the “Welcome Pack” from the Animal Welfare Approved program. After this phase, you’d get the approval to use the AGW label on your food or beverage product.