Tatua became the first company this month to receive the Food Safety System Certification (FSSC) 22000 in New Zealand, according to a statement issued by the co-operative company last week.
FSSC 22000 is an internationally recognised and independent food safety certification system for the food-manufacturing sector and has been awarded to only 400 companies across the world as of date.
“The new certification is a combined standard of ISO 22000 and PAS 200 and is recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative,” said Tatua CEO, Paul McGilvary.
According to McGilvary, the process behind the certification took about 12 months and involved updating all of the existing food safety systems, under which every operating procedure had to be reviewed for the new standard.
According to the press release, Tatua had worked with the certifying New Zealand agency AsureQuality to get the systems up to standard and gain the certification.
“The certification covers the manufacture and supply of the range of dairy and non-dairy products that Tatua produces, including protein products, creams, sauces, soft cheeses and dessert products,” he said.
McGilvary added that the certification would help the dairy work better with its overseas customers who would now be able to assured of the international standard of our products.
“The certification would also benefit Tatua on the procurement side, in terms of making sure that the raw materials we acquire will also be of a certain standard as our vendors will be aware of our standards,” he said.
According to McGilvary, Tatua is a small, agile company with a reputation for complex and innovative products customized to the consumers, but not for its ability to manufacture at scale.
“This certification thus helps us getting credibility for these new products in the eyes of our customers,” he said.