Four tea estates of the Amalgamated Plantations Private Ltd (APPL) have become the first recipient of the ISO 22000 Accredited Food Safety certification in the tea sector, a company release said. Formerly under Tata Tea Ltd, these plantations have been now brought under APPL, which is a joint venture of TTL and a clutch of other companies. All 24 estates of APPL are to be brought under the ISO certification by 2011.
The certification has been received from DET NORSKE VERITAS -DNV, for four of APPLs orthodox estates, Achabam TE, Borhat TE, Chubwa TE and Nahorani TE in Assam. The group has 24 estates within Assam and Bengal and produces 41 million kgs of tea. The factories have been upgraded to meet stringent international requirements for food safety, a company release said. This is part of the tea cluster initiative of the CII , the release said.
D Borah, Executive Director of APPL said that the factories have undergone changes to improve processes and hygiene with evidenced reduction of spillage during processing. This process required wide employee involvement and promotion of a culture of sharing best practices for continual improvement. He believes that APPLs decision to engage CII Institute of Quality had facilitated the journey to excellence, starting with Food Safety and Quality.
The Individual estate Certificates would be handed over to the 4 APPL estates in Assam during separate
ceremonies within the coming week and the company plans to upgrade another six estates within the current financial year. The rest of the estates would be made ISO 22000 compliant within 2011.
