Who we are
The Assured Combinable Crops Scheme (ACCS) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Assured Food Standards (AFS). Crops include wheat, barley and rye, oilseeds such as linseed and rapeseed, pulses such as peas and beans and most recently, sugar beet. The phrase “Combinable Crops” refers to the harvesting method by combine harvester, which picks the crop from the ground and separates edible parts of the plant, the seeds or beans, from the rest. The scheme was set up in 1998 to address food safety concerns and the quality requirements of different buyers, especially millers and bakers. These crops are widely used in food and drinks, milling wheat for flour and malting barley for beer and whisky. Many are used in animal feeds for livestock.
Separate Sugar beet standards were launched by AFS in 2003. These standards have now been incorporated with the ACCS standards for combinable crops and there is now a single set of standards for combinable crops and sugar beet.
Certification Bodies
There are four certification bodies (CBs) who hold a licence to audit the Scheme Standards, CMi Certification, SAI Global-FABBL, National Britannia and PAI. All are independent of ACCS and producers are free to decide who to join. Producers pay their membership fee to the Certifier and the Certifier is responsible for all aspects of membership and inspection.