What the BRCGS Professional Programme did for Alpura

I recently caught up with Marisol Hernandez, who is a BRCGS Professional working for Mexican manufacturing company Alpura, along with our BRCGS representative for Latin America, Luis Saucedo. Together, we discussed the BRCGS Professional programme and the various benefits it has brought to Alpura over the last year as well as the opportunity for product safety professionals in Latin America.

 RM: Hi Marisol, can you tell us a bit about what Alpura does?

 MH: Alpura is a leading Mexican dairy company founded in 1970 by a group of 123 milk farmers with the intention to deliver the best fresh cow milk with the highest quality from the origin. Alpura process raw milk in various pasteurized products like UHT milk, UHT flavored milk, yoghurt, sour cream, cheese, butter, powdered milk, and other innovative products

We control all the process from farms including the genetics and growth of the cows, the transportation of raw milk in isolated containers, the receiving and processing of the raw milk, the storage and distribution of finished products, and even the manufacturing of plastic cups and bottles in our company-owned state-of-the-art packaging site.

 RM: Marisol, why is Professional Development important for Alpura?

 MH: We have the mission of protecting our consumers and brand ensuring the food safety, authenticity, quality, and legality in each of our products and processes. We need to be sure we can accomplish that mission with the best team - we need the most competent and committed people so Professional Development is a must.

 RM: What existing Professional Development activities does Alpura do for their staff?

 MH: Alpura is a great company, always in pursuit and care of the professional and personal development of its employees. We have technical training programs and soft skills coaching across the year, we are even in a professional career program, and different personal activities to develop and increase our competence.

 RM: So why did you choose the Professional Program? 

 MH: I spoke with Luis Saucedo (Alpura’s BRCGS Approved Training Partner in Latin America) and he told me all the benefits of the Program and the huge impact it will bring not only to me but also to Alpura. I was really excited and committed to make it happen.

The BRCGS Professional program allows us to grow professionally and personally. It is a program that gives us all the tools to apply in our work, day after day and that facilitates the implementation and improvement of our Management System.

 RM: What benefits have you seen since completing the programme?

 MH: The BRCGS Professional program brought us a new level of performance. We have seen improvements in our financial, operational, quality and safety, learning and growth indicators.

We also noticed improvements in how we are perceived by our stakeholders and customers. Now we have completed the programme we are ready to accomplish any challenge and to be successful in any project to support Alpura’s growth. We are now ready to properly react to any incident because we have a strong and reliable team of BRCGS Professionals, including my Quality Director, Consumer and Brand Protection Chief and the entire Food Safety Support Team.

 RM: How will the BRCGS Professional recognition impact your team’s work and performance?

  MH: Me and my team feel the recognition is a plus in our careers, but it’s more than a badge, it’s the certainty that we are capable to do whatever it is needed to protect consumers. We appreciate the Certificate of Recognition, but we get more value knowing that our customers, our family, and friends are protected enjoying our products. I can say that being a BRCGS Professional was aspirational at the beginning, now it is a full-time commitment.

RM: Your team completed the training via our ATP, Luis Saucedo. Can you tell us a bit about how that worked? 

 MH: At the beginning, it was not easy to achieve a cultural change in the company, we were facing paradigms from many years ago, but and with the training courses Luis gave us, step by step we could convince every company member to achieve the goals desired to guarantee food safety, quality, legality and authenticity in each one of our processes and products. Now we are convinced that we are more productive and profitable, always following and complying with our Food Safety Management Policy.

  RM: For Luis, what is the opportunity for Product Safety Professionals in Latin America?

 LS: As Marisol shared, the opportunity is huge in Latin America. There are many training courses in the area of product safety management. There are Universities and training centers as well as independent consultants, offering product safety courses however they are not harmonized, holistic or properly developed as is BRCGS Professional.

I feel that there should be at least one BRCGS Professional in every BRCGS certificated site and preferably in every site under a GFSI recognized certification scheme. The BRCGS Professional programme is not only relevant for BRCGS sites, it’s also valuable for any site requiring highly qualified product safety professionals. BRCGS Professional develops high performing individuals who can effectively manage the implementation of standards, product safety risks, quality management systems as well as protecting consumers and brands.