Certificates, food safety and cold chain

Application and ordering

For a buyer looking for an IFS certified supplier or MSC and ASC frozen seafood in Belgium, what matters most is which certificate applies to what. IFS Logistics and IFS Broker apply company-wide at Epic and cover respectively the storage and distribution activity and the trading activity itself; both are audited annually for the entire organisation. AEO (Authorised Economic Operator) is the third company-wide certificate and covers customs security across borders, relevant for anyone buying or exporting internationally. MSC (wild catch from sustainably managed fisheries) and ASC (responsible aquaculture) work differently: those labels do not cover the full assortment, but apply to specific references, such as certain cod loins under MSC and certain vannamei shrimp and tilapia fillets under ASC. A buyer who needs an MSC or ASC label for their own labelling is best advised to check this per reference rather than assuming blanket certification. Beyond paper certification, food safety at Epic also rests on the physical cold chain: the distribution centre in Kontich, operational since 1991 and expanded in 2005 to 4,500 pallet positions, works with refrigerated warehouses, 24/7 temperature monitoring, frozen transport and refrigerated loading docks, so the temperature is never broken at any point between storage and delivery. Origin and quality control are further covered by a worldwide network of long-term partners, in many cases the same suppliers for decades, which makes traceability to the source possible. A quality manager or buyer who wants to see the certificates themselves will find the five logos (IFS Logistics, IFS Broker, AEO, MSC, ASC) on the epic.be homepage under "We are certified" and on the about page under "The proof is on the label". For a certificate on a specific reference, or for questions not covered on the public site, a buyer is best advised to contact Epic directly.

Frequently asked questions