TRAINING and consultancy practice Synergy Interactive has become the first in the North-East to be accredited by the retail food industry's governing body.

The accreditation could halve the cost of training for North-East companies which have previously sent staff to London or Reading for courses lasting between two and four days.

Synergy, based in Stockton, is one of 11 training providers nationally approved by the British Retail Consortium (BRC). With five of those providers being universities, it means Synergy is one of only six private companies in the country to hold the status.

It will allow North-East food producers to obtain local training, enabling them to implement the BRC Global Food standard, the industry best practice standard against which supermarkets judge their suppliers.

Synergy will also be providing auditor training, allowing companies to verify that their systems, and those of suppliers, are meeting contractual and food safety regulatory requirements, an essential element of the BRC standard requirements.

Synergy director Peter Henry said: "It is a big feather in our cap, but it also great news for any local businesses, from suppliers of filled sandwiches to meat companies, who have ambitions to supply their products to large multiples or department stores."