06 Nov 2013 Burchells Foods wins FSSC 22000:2011 certification
Burchells Foods, the Worcester-based manufacturer of sauces, soups and condiments, has received the prestigious FSSC 22000:2011 food safety and quality certification from ProCert in Switzerland. This global ticket has only been awarded to a handful of progressive food manufacturers in South Africa to date.
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| Juanita Louw, Progress Excellence, presents the ProCert certificate to Reana Cloete, QA manager at Burchells Foods. |
“It is a massive achievement for the company and will enable us to continue to supply the very highest possible quality of private label products to our loyal customer base locally (SPAR, Woolworths, Pick n Pay ), and add credibility to our international Gourmet Africa brand as exports expand to more and more destinations around the world,” says Debbie Alcock, co-founder and director of Burchells Foods.
This BEE level 2 company has been both HACCP and ISO 9001 certified for the past four years, but felt a driving need to exceed this and aim for the very highest possible food safety certification available worldwide.
“Our products must rise above the norm, not only exceed the local benchmark but also meet the best and toughest of international standards,” comments Alcock.
Burchells Foods’ QA manager, Reana Cloete, says that this achievement has been gained with the 18-month perseverance and commitment of Chantal Von Arx (microbiologist & food technologist) and their large QA team.
FSSC 22000 is approved by GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) to ensure continuous improvement in food safety management systems, eliminating fragmentation of food standards, improved supply chain management and provide greater confidence in safe food for consumers worldwide. It is supported by the Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries of the European Union (CIAA).
The GFSI approval thus allows Burchells Foods to meet the requirements of leading global retailers and major branded food companies under a single, internationally-recognised food safety management system.
Gourmet Africa [click pic to enlarge]
The world is being united in taste as consumer palates explore exotic flavours from around the world and cross borders but, while you can easily find TexMex, Mediterranean, Indian, Chinese and Thai cuisines on most supermarket shelves, there is nothing that is uniquely African. And that is why Alcock, and her chef husband Tim, went to explore what the continent had to offer.
From this, they have developed their Gourmet Africa range of convenient, delicious and authentic regional dishes.
“There is big interest in Africa, but very few people really know what its authentic foods taste like – let alone the differences between each country. This range puts African flavours on the global map,” she says.
The Gourmet Africa range, already exported to UK, Germany and Poland, offers an exciting flavour packed meal solution from Africa. It won Best New Range of Food Products for 2013 (SA Food Review), while a novel new snack, Klui Klui, was runner up of the Best Individual Food Product 2013 in the same competition.
“We think it a great innovation – an African tradition with a twist on a peanut snack. Many of ingredients are grown in black empowerment cooperative schemes too, helping to create huge excitement wherever this range goes,” adds Alcock.
Orders and interest, she says, continue to pour in from around the globe as a result of showcasing the range at ANUGA 2013 exhibition in Germany in October.
“It won’t be long before this unique Gourmet Africa range will find its way into most supermarkets around the world.. USA, Canada, Sweden, Asia and Australia ….”