Taiyo has announced that its Sunphenon green tea manufacturing facility, Taiyo Green Power, has achieved Food Safety System Certification (FSSC) 22000 certification, recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), from Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA).
“Taiyo’s successful FSSC Certification reaffirms its commitment to providing the highest quality and safest ingredients to customers around the world”, said Taiyo’s Vice President Dr. Lekh Juneja. “LRQA’s recognition of our manufacturing process and attention to food safety further assures customers looking to fortify their products with green tea extracts of Taiyo’s dedication to safety.”
FSSC 22000 is a complete independent food-safety certification developed to address prerequisite program requirements for food product and ingredient manufacturers. It is recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) and is supported by the Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries of the European Union (CIAA) and the American Groceries Manufacturing Association (GMA). GFSI recognized certification ensures continuous improvement in food-safety management systems and delivery of safe food to consumers worldwide, and is a crucial certification for manufacturers supplying to global retailers including Wal-Mart, Costco, Kroger, Carrefour, Tesco, Migros and others.
This certification adds to Taiyo Green Power’s impressive list of international global certifications, including ISO9001, ISO22000 and NSF Food Safety, Quality and Food Defense accreditation, and is the second Taiyo facility to achieve GFSI Recognized certification, with its Yokkaichi based facility achieving SQF 2000 Code Certification in 2012.
All green tea extracts within the Sunphenon line are produced from natural green tea and are compliant with stringent U.S. FDA residual pesticide regulations. This fully compliant material is extracted via a water infusion process and decaffeinated using only FDA approved food grade ethyl acetate.
Sunphenon is the recipient of numerous international awards, recognized for its advanced research and ingredient applications, including the IFT Industrial Achievement Award and the Ministry of Japan Science and Technology Award.
