Arena, WI – Arena Cheese was awarded certification by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) for meeting the demanding food safety standards under the guidelines of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) announced today by Bill Hanson, Vice President and head cheese maker of Arena Cheese. Arena Cheese makes prize-winning authentic Colby, Colby/Jack, Gouda and Naturally Hardwood Smoked Gouda cheeses.
The entire Arena Cheese team, led by Thad Hanson, head of Quality Assurance has taken the necessary time and training the past 12 months, in conjunction with substantial upgrades to the plant and equipment to make this certification possible and ongoing. With the Food Safety Modernization Act’s focus on prevention of food safety problems and increased consumer attention on safe foods, the BRC certification validates to Arena cheese’s customers that a robust food safety program is in place.
“Many of our current customers have requested and required GFSI certification in the past 18 months,” stated Bill Hanson. “We knew that this was a natural step up from our existing food safety program that we needed to take to move Arena Cheese to the next level of quality assurance for the benefit of our customers. Management was and is firmly behind this initiative.”
Arena Cheese makes Colby and Colby/Jack cheese in traditional 6 inch longhorns and 4 inch deli horns. Team Arena won a medal last month for its Colby cheese in the World Cheese Championships. This is Team Arena’s 9th medal since 2002 in the World, US and American Cheese Society contests for Colby and Colby/Jack cheese. This emphasizes Arena Cheese’s commitment to quality and consistency. Colby/Jack was first invented at this plant in 1979 and Team Arena uses the same recipe today to make this now universal cheese.
For further information, please contact: Jessica Knoble jknoble@arenacheese.net
Source: Arena Cheese, Inc.
