RahrBSG Hops Facility Receives FSSC 22000 Certification
Brewers Supply Group is happy to share that our Wapato, WA hop processing facility has received FSSC 22000 certification.
“This level of certification puts RahrBSG’s Wapato facility in very rare company in the hop industry,” says RahrBSG Quality Assurance Manager Brandon Pierce. “Only a select few hop merchants or processors are FSSC certified. This represents a lot of hard work from a large cross-functional team.”
FSSC 22000 is an ISO-based Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) benchmarked food safety scheme. This means that facilities certified against the standard are operating on a globally-benchmarked food safety standard that requires formal food safety programs to be in place and maintained. The scheme also requires engagement at every level of the company, from senior leadership to the folks on the floor executing the program.
In addition to government regulatory standards that a facility must operate under, the scheme requires work toward a few distinct fundamentals:
- Establishment and maintenance of a Food Safety Management System, which is the organizational structure of all programs needed to satisfy the standard.
- Documented Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points (HACCP), where the facility evaluates inputs and processing steps associated with the foods produced at a facility, and implements controls to address identified hazards.
- Implementing Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) to ensure that the location of the facility, grounds, facility itself, employees, recall procedures, and practices such as cleaning and maintenance are controlled in ways that enhance food safety.
- Implementing Food Defense controls to protect against food fraud and intentional adulteration.
Participation in FSSC 22000 year over year will ensure that our continual improvement efforts are enhanced through audits by highly trained 3rd party auditors.
This certification underlines RahrBSG’s commitment to quality, consistency and service. Food safety is important to RahrBSG and we want our customers to be confident the ingredients provided are produced to standards above and beyond government regulations.