Bureau Veritas Launches Safety Standard for Retail

Bureau Veritas, the world’s oldest testing and certification company, is partnering with the Cleveland Clinic to create a uniform set of standards for hygiene control and health safety in grocery stores and other businesses operating in a COVID-19 world.

The Cleveland Clinic will serve as the medical director of the Bureau Veritas Restart your Business With BV program, which includes protocols, guidelines and standards that help businesses, whether they were temporarily closed or never stopped operating, meet appropriate health, safety and hygiene requirements.

Bureau Veritas will oversee implementation, education and compliance on the ground, including the creation of detailed health safety and hygiene guides, employee training, surface testing, product criteria, and ongoing audits and monitoring.

As part of the partnership with Cleveland Clinic, Bureau Veritas plans to introduce the Safe Guard Hygiene Excellence Label – a suite of services including laboratory hygiene testing, hygiene and safety protocol audits, e-training programs, and continued monitoring of safety protocols to ensure that businesses operate safely.

In addition to the support of the Cleveland Clinic, protocols, standards and guidelines will continue to be developed in collaboration with leading epidemiologists, as well as members of the scientific community, and in compliance with local government agencies across North America.

“It is critical that we deploy strategies to mitigate the epidemiological spread of COVID-19 in our communities, particularly as businesses begin to reopen their operations," said Mike Kessel, president and CEO of Cleveland Clinic Canada. "Cleveland Clinic is proud to support Bureau Veritas. Our extensive experience in medical directorship programs, health policy and skilled emergency management, in combination with Bureau Veritas’ 192-year legacy in providing testing, inspection and certification services, means we can continue to work holistically as 'one global society' to fight the pandemic together.”