New Rochelle, NY — LGS Specialty Sales, Ltd. is proud to tell present and future customers that it is the first and only U.S. importer/broker to attain SQF (Safe Quality Food) Level 2: Certified HACCP Based Food Safety Plans Certification, for citrus fruit, grape, avocados, apples and pears.
This certification, first obtained in November 2013, underscores the New York-based importer’s quarter century commitment to rigorous and continuous food safety inspections and a standard of international level quality control that ensures its fresh produce is world class.
“We as a company have always held a deep commitment to food safety,” says Joseph DeNardo, who oversees LGS’s special projects. “Even at the start, we had a computer system in place that allowed us to trace product back to its source. Today, not only does food safety remain critically important to us as a company — and to the produce industry as a whole — but there is more demand nowadays from consumers to know who grew their food, where it was grown, and that it is safe.”
LGS sought its first SQF certification in 2013. To achieve this, the company completed modules 2 (Systems Elements) and 11 (Good Manufacturing Practices for Processing of Food Products). In July 2014, in order to maintain its SQF Level 2 certification, LGS completely reformulated its food safety plan to comply with the newly published Module 14 (Food Safety Fundamentals — Good Manufacturing Practices for Food Brokers and Agents).
“This level of food safety extends beyond us as a company to the companies we do business with and the facilities we use. These entities are also compliant with requirements. If they don’t have their own certification, we send in an auditor to help them become certified or ensure they are in a continuous improvement plan to do so. This move reassures our customers that every entity partnering with LGS in the supply chain is handling produce in the safest and highest-quality manner,” says Kristina Kovac, the company’s food safety director.
SQF Level 2 is part of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), a benchmarked scheme that is widely recognized within the food industry. Continually updated, certification criteria keeps pace with the ever-changing regulatory requirements in the many countries in which the certification is used. GFSI is administered by the Safe Quality Food Institute (SQFI), a division of the Arlington, VA-based Food Marketing Institute (FMI).
About LGS Specialty Sales
LGS Specialty Sales, located at 1 Radisson Plaza, Suite 1022, in New Rochelle, NY is a four-star, A-rated importer of fresh fruits and vegetables. Known best for introducing U.S. customers to clementines from Spain over two decades ago, the company now imports citrus from Spain, South Africa, Peru and Chile. LGS has added other premium produce such as Hass avocados, grapes, apples and pears to its core group of commodities. For more information, visit: www.lgssales.com
Source: PerishableNews.com
