Upcycled Plant Power (UPP), a UK-based sustainable ingredient technology company, has been awarded Grade A certification against the BRCGS global standard for Food Safety Issue 9, following its first audit.
In addition, UPP has achieved Grade A Plant Based V1 certification by Eurofins, supporting the vegan nature of the ingredients and reflecting the structural non-GMO status.
Achieving Grade A is a benchmark many established manufacturers take years to reach, and the results demonstrate that the company’s facility is operating at a high level of regulatory compliance, operational control and hygiene from the outset.
The certified site operates at the UK Agri-Tech Centre in Edgmond, Newport, Shropshire, where UPP runs its harvest-to-ingredient platform.
The facility can process 2,500 tonnes of biomass per annum to produce 1,000 tonnes of natural, sustainable, clean-label ingredients per annum and can be run by just two people due to the level of automation.
It is the model on which the 10,000 tonne per annum modules will be based, the first of which will be deployed in Scotland in 2027.
Founded in June 2022, UPP turns underused brassica biomass, such as the stems and stalks left over after broccoli is harvested for retail, into specification-grade protein and fibre ingredients for major food producers, using patent-protected harvest automation and side-stream processing.
BRCGS is recognised by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) and is widely treated as a baseline requirement for supplying major food manufacturers and retailers.
Reaching Grade A at first audit, less than four years from founding, reflects the ‘regulatory first’ stance and the velocity that the team has achieved to first product and is achieving towards scale production.
UPP chose to move directly to BRCGS Food Safety rather than first pursuing ISO 22000 or FSSC 22000, reasoning that for an ingredient manufacturer supplying large food producers, BRCGS carries the strongest retailer and brand recognition.
The certification sits alongside UPP’s existing ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System and its Sedex membership.
Mark Evans, CEO at UPP, said: “We chose doing natural ingredients right over novel science.
“Our Grade A certification at first audit reflects designing food safety and standards into the operating template from day one, which in turn gave us credibility with Tier 1 food producers and supermarkets. In this case doing it right allows you to go faster.
“This rapid time to achieve the suite of clearances required by the food industry (BRCGS plus Sedex) illustrates our systems thinking, customer affiliation and execution focus.
“We very much believe that innovation is the mechanism to address the challenges of the industry, but it must work with the industry, and it must be clean, natural, sustainable and improve both nutrition and margins.
“UPP offers that solution, and what BRCGS Grade A shows is that we offer it today.”
The certification reflects three deliberate phases of strategic planning.
First, UPP focused on making its harvest-to-ingredient platform work in practice, integrating automates harvest inputs with processing designed to maximise value per tonne of crop.
Second, it integrated BRCGS certification into design from the outset.
Third, with certification in place, UPP can now rapidly scale to supply large food manufacturers, retail-facing products and partners that require audited, repeatable compliance backed by globally recognised accreditation.
For farmers, buyers and investors, the food and farming system increasingly demands less risk, less waste and tighter capital discipline.
Achieving Grade A BRCGS certification is a clear step in that direction.
To find out more about UPP and its work, visit them online.
