Sunspray receives HACCP accreditation

Left to right: Zanobia Sibda, Q & A Manager, Sunspray Food Ingredients; Lynn La Grange, Manager Food and Health Certification, SABS; Dr Luis Girão, Manufacturing Director, Sunspray Food Ingredients; Nitai Mahabir, HACCP Administrator, Sunspray Food Ingredients.

HACCP is used in the food industry to identify potential food-safety hazards so that action can be taken to reduce or eliminate the likelihood that any such hazards are realised. The system is used at all stages of food production and preparation processes including packaging and distribution.

The SABS accredited Sunspray following an assessment of the company's management system and subsequent compliance with the requirements of SANS 10330:2007. This accreditation follows on the ISO 9001:2000 quality-management accreditation that the manufacturer received in 2003.

HACCP is a requirement of most internationally recognised food safety standards, and the achievement elevates the company to international standards in the arena of food safety. Accreditation gives consumers confidence that products are safe and comply with stringent independent quality standards.

In addition to manufacturing its own range of products, Sunspray is a contract manufacturer for a number of multinational companies, including a pharmaceutical company. For the company to become a world-class manufacturer, HACCP accreditation was an essential, and non-negotiable requirement.

Contract manufacturing has its own challenges, as the company is expected to make a vast array of products in a multitude of packaging variants. The key feature of HACCP is that a study unique to each product and processing environment is necessary. This allows the risk-assessment technique to identify specific food-safety hazards and prevent such hazards through appropriate monitoring, process control and process verification.