ProAmpac, a global leader in flexible packaging, announces that its Hartford, Wisconsin facility has been certified to the Safe Quality Food (SQF) code, a global food safety program.
Image: ProAmpac’s Hartford plant has received safe quality food certification. Photo: courtesy of ProAmpac.
The team began work last August, and certification was received May 24, making it the tenth SQF-Certified ProAmpac site in North America.
“This is one more step in ProAmpac’s commitment to provide food-safe packaging to our customers from multiple facilities. Certification is driven by an increasing demand from food and pet food customers responding to market pressure and regulations,” said Adam Grose, chief commercial officer.
The Safe Quality Food program is recognized by retailers, brand owners, and food service providers as one of the most rigorous and comprehensive food safety and quality standards in the world.
Certification, issued by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), requires establishment of a rigorous, comprehensive food safety program through every step of the supply chain. GFSI is a group of food safety experts that drives continuous improvement in food safety management systems around the world.
“To become an SQF Certified site, the Hartford facility’s cross disciplinary Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) team worked over the course of 10 months, with support from Hartford plant employees, teams in other facilities, as well as corporate functions,” said Ryan Fischer, the facility’s director of administration and team lead on the SQF certification.
Combining what the Safe Quality Food Institute mentions as a “commitment to food safety” by the organization and “hard work” by the people involved, this group developed an 11-part HACCP plan, two policy statements, 16 programs and 22 new procedures.
“This was a strong effort on the part of the whole team to bring this certification over the finish line,” explained Fischer.
The Hartford facility manufactures direct-contact flexible packaging for food, in addition to lawn and garden flexible packaging.
Source: Company Press Release