Making the Case for Quality
August 2007
Agricultural Firms Gain Competitive Edge With USDA’s
ISO 9001-Based Verification Program
by Janet Jacobsen
It was wryly referred to as the “cow that stole Christmas.” The time was late December 2003, and
At a Glance . . . one isolated case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, better known as “mad cow disease,” instantly
closed export markets and crippled the U.S. beef industry. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
(USDA) process verification program (PVP) played an integral role in country-to-country negotiations
• The U.S. Department
to reopen beef export markets, due in large part to the program’s use of the internationally accepted
of Agriculture’s (USDA)
ISO 9001 quality management system (QMS) standard. Through PVP audits and other QMS-based
Process Verified Program
audit programs, the country’s trading partners were reassured of U.S. beef producers’ processes and
(PVP) provides suppliers of
agriculture products and procedures and export markets were reopened.
services with a voluntary,
independent verification About the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service
program based on ISO
9001:2000.
Among the myriad USDA agencies is the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), which includes six
• With recent concerns on commodity programs:
traceability involving a
variety of food staples, the
• Cotton
PVP is proving a valuable
• Dairy
marketing tool for egg,
• Fruit and Vegetable
poultry, pork, and beef
producers. • Livestock and Seed
• Poultry
• By using the PVP,
• Tobacco
exporters, processors,
suppliers, and buyers have
a method to assure their These programs provide standardization, grading, certification, and market news services; oversee
customers that procedures
marketing agreements and orders; administer research and promotion programs; and purchase com-
and processes designed
modities for federal food programs. Auditing is yet another service offered by the agency under these
to meet specific standards
commodity programs. For instance, the Livestock and Seed program includes the Audit, Review, and
are verified by USDA
auditors and are consistent Compliance (ARC) Branch, which provides services to suppliers to ensure that those suppliers maintain
on a continual basis. a defined level of quality throughout their production processes. This certification takes place through
quality system verification programs, which are voluntary, user-fee, audit-based services available to
• To earn PVP approval,
an agricultural business suppliers of agricultural products and services.
must pass an independent
third-party audit of its PVP Follows International Standards to Ensure Credibility
quality management
system; the business then
Created in the Livestock and Seed Program in the mid-1990s, the PVP was eventually placed under the
earns the right to market
ARC Branch in 2002, a logical move for a service that incorporates the requirements of ISO 9001:2000
its approved process as
in its entirety. “By using the internationally accepted ISO 9001:2000 standard to evaluate suppliers’
“USDA Process Verified.”
systems, the PVP ensures consistent auditing practices and promotes universal recognition of the audit
The American Society for Quality www.asq.org Page 1 of 3

results,” notes Jim Riva, the ARC Branch chief. Adding further Successful applicants must:
credibility, ISO 19011:2002, the international guidelines for
• Demonstrate the ability to consistently provide products that
QMS auditing, serves as the foundation for conducting PVP
meet customer and applicable purchaser requirements.
audits and for evaluating the program’s auditors. Once the PVP
• Aim to enhance customer satisfaction through the effective
was a success in the Livestock and Seed Program, other pro-
application of the QMS, including processes for continual
grams in the USDA, such as Poultry Programs, adopted the PVP
improvement of the system and the assurance of conformity
for its suppliers.
to customer and applicable purchaser requirements.
Jeffrey Waite, national supervisor of audit programs in
After a supplier is PVP approved, auditors return for a follow-up
Poultry Programs, explains that with the PVP, customers gain
visit in six months. If the QMS is operating without any major
confidence in a supplier’s quality system through independent
nonconformances, the next surveillance audit is scheduled for one
third-party audits. These audits include both a review and
year later. Of course, if complaints are received against the sup-
validation of a company’s documented QMS. Once approved,
plier or there are several corrective actions in need of attention,
the USDA allows companies to market their process(es) as
auditors may return to a supplier for more frequent surveillance
“USDA Process Verified” and use the program shield as
audits, something that Riva says happens very infrequently.
shown in Figure 1. Waite, who is an ASQ member and has
earned the Certified Quality Auditor (CQA) and Certified
Premium Standard Farms, the first pork company to earn PVP
HACCP Auditor (CHA) credentials, says that the PVP is,
approval for its entire production and pork-processing system,
however, limited to very specific portions of a supplier’s
initially sought the approval as a means of differentiating itself in
business, called process verified points, which are selected by
the marketplace. Collette Schultz-Kaster, vice president for food
each supplier and are typically related to age, source, feeding
safety and technical issues for Premium Standard Farms, recalls
practices, or other raising and processing claims. In addition
that in 1998, some competing producers were claiming approval to
to the ISO 9001 requirements, the program also mandates
similar programs. “The independent third-party verification of the
identification of all products and positive traceability from the
USDA’s program was very important to our company,” she says.
point when the supplier places the PVP shield back to when
the claim starts.
Another organization that has earned PVP approval is IMI
Global, a data service provider for the food industry. Leann
Figure 1—PVP Shield
Saunders, senior vice president of marketing for the Castle Rock,
Colorado, based company, says her organization accrued many
internal benefits from the PVP approval process. First, it helped
IMI Global establish standardized procedures for all employees.
She also appreciates the continuous improvement aspect of a
QMS based on ISO 9001:2000, saying, “You can’t improve what
you don’t measure. This program enables you to continuously
measure so you can continuously improve. For us that’s been the
biggest benefit.”
To ensure a well-qualified audit staff, all PVP auditors are
required to successfully complete an ISO 9001 lead auditor train- Saunders notes that her company, which has four process veri-
ing course. As further attestation to the credentials of the audit fied points, is very proud to use the PVP shield in its marketing
staff, 12 of 13 auditors in the Livestock and Seed Program’s pieces, as shown in Figure 2. “It’s a symbol of credibility. We
ARC Branch have earned the Certified Quality Auditor (CQA) believe in it and talk about it all the time, as it shows we have a
status from ASQ. seal of approval,” Saunders explains.
Process Verified Program Offers Third-Party Market Demand Will Steer the Future of the PVP
Credibility and Market Differentiation
The outlook for the PVP looks bright—in just the last two years
Suppliers that wish to earn the USDA Process Verified status alone, the Livestock and Seed area has approved 34 companies.
first submit a quality manual for a desk review against the ISO Riva attributes this rapid growth, especially on the pork side, to
9001 standard. The manual must cover the areas of the supplier’s demand from export markets. He says that source-verified claims
business that correlate with the selected process verified points. as well as product quality traits are especially important to pur-
Once the desk review is complete and the supplier addresses any chasers in Japan. And, because the USDA doesn’t grade pork as
gaps, an on-site review audit is scheduled. “Essentially, suppli- it does beef products, the PVP program gives purchasers more
ers tell us what they are going to do and we verify it through a information than they could otherwise obtain about suppliers of
QMS. Typically suppliers have two to three process points, but pork products.
it’s easy to add more points later on once they have their system
in place,” explains Riva, who is also a trained lead auditor and a Waite says the program could easily expand into other USDA
programs such as dairy, fruit and vegetables, and cotton, but
member of ASQ.
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the key is an industry-driven demand. As for the poultry and • Contact Jeffrey Waite, national supervisor of audits in the
egg industry, Riva predicts substantial growth in the number of Poultry Grading Branch, via e-mail at Jeffrey.Waite@USDA.gov
producers seeking PVP approval once they learn of their compet- • To learn more about the Audit, Review, and Compliance
itors’ involvement with the program. His prediction has credence Branch of the Livestock and Seed Program, which administers
as Schultz-Kaster recalls that once her company achieved PVP the PVP, visit: http://www.ams.usda.gov/lsg/arc/audit.htm
approval, it set the bar for competitors in the pork industry and • Contact James Riva, Audit, Review, and Compliance Branch
most followed suit by earning approval as well. chief, via e-mail at James.Riva@USDA.gov
• For a list of Process Verified Programs in the Livestock and
“Just a few years ago in the poultry business you had an egg, Seed Branch, visit: http://processverified.usda.gov/
washing equipment, and a truck. Producers didn’t worry about • To learn more about IMI Global, contact Leann Saunders at
documented systems. It’s a major step for a lot of agricultural lsaunders@IMIGlobal.com or visit the company’s Web site
businesses to get into a QMS environment. Once they see that at www.imiglobal.com
customers find value in the PVP shield, they’ll spend the time to • For ISO 9001 resources and training opportunities, visit:
meet the requirements,” Waite predicts. www.asq.org
For More Information: About the Author
• Learn more about the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Janet Jacobsen is a freelance writer specializing in quality and
Service at http://www.ams.usda.gov/ compliance topics. A graduate of Drake University, she resides
• For information on the Process Verified Program in the in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Poultry Branch, visit: http://www.ams.usda.gov/poultry/
grading/PVP.htm
Figure 2—IMI Global marketing piece
IMI Global’s marketing materials proudly tout the company’s status as USDA Process Verified.
The American Society for Quality www.asq.org Page 3 of 3