International certification for SA dairy
3 October 2012
The Eastern Cape province's eco-friendly Coega Dairy has become the first South
African dairy to be awarded an ISO 22000 Food Safety System Certification, a sought-after international standard for food safety management, the company announced on Monday.
Located in the Coega Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) just outside Port Elizabeth,
the dairy produces Coastal View UHT milk and butter and has the smallest carbon
footprint of any dairy throughout the southern hemisphere.
The Coega Dairy factory has also been certified as Kosher and Halaal.
ISO 22000 FSSC was the first single standard to attain worldwide recognition.
It was introduced in 2004 to guarantee safety systems in companies that process
animal products, perishable vegetable products, products with a long shelf-life, food
ingredients with additives, vitamins, bio-cultures and food packaging material
manufacturing.
"To be the first South African
dairy to receive the sought-after international ISO
22000 FSSC certification is an exceptional honour for us," chief executive officer of
Coega Dairy, Hennie Kleynhans, said in a statement.
"Before certification we completed an audit for the ISO 22000 Hazard Analysis and
Critical Control Point (HACCP) accreditation, which required a paper trail and quality
checks from the farmer to the household."
Coega Dairy is also unique in the country for its ultra-high temperature (UHT)
processing plant.
"We are the first dairy company to invest in a plant design that is significantly more
efficient than conventional UHT milk processing solutions available in other South
Africa plants," the company said.
"This modern technology resulted in the exclusion of various steps in the production
process, with subsequent cost savings and environmentally-friendly results."
The technology, known as OneStep, particularly allows for savings in water and
energy consumption and improves production efficiencies.
"Since investing in the Coega IDZ, the dairy has produced exceptional results - from
over delivering on environmental standards compliance, creating jobs and expanding
operations - this accolade is another feather in the cap of one of our most
successful investors," said head of marketing and communications for the Coega
Development Corporation, Ayanda Vilakazi.
SAinfo reporter
