Bonté Foods Obtains Global Food Certification Status

Bonté Foods has been awarded certification by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) following a recent audit of their Dieppe based facilities.

The BRC accreditation is part of a worldwide food certification recognized globally as a food safety excellence standard. This certification is required by many national and international retail food brands like Sobeys and Loblaw’s for their private label products. The BRC website states that The BRC Global Standards are a leading global safety and quality certification program, used throughout the world by over 17,000 certificated suppliers in 90 countries through a network of over 80 accredited and BRC recognized Certification Bodies. The BRC Global Standards are widely used by suppliers and global retailers. They facilitate standardization of quality, safety, operational criteria and manufacturers’ fulfillment of legal obligations. They also help provide protection to the consumer.

“This has been a long but important process’” says Nicole Churchill, Bonte’s Food Safety Director. This certification clearly illustrates our company’s commitment to world class quality and food safety. It assures customers of Bonté and Chris Brothers products that the food produced at our Dieppe facility meets or exceeds world standards.”

BRC is one of several accredited organizations recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative – a business-driven initiative for the continuous improvement of food safety management systems. Its mandate is to ensure confidence in the delivery of safe food to consumers worldwide. The initiative was launched in 2000 following a number of food safety crises when consumer confidence was at an all-time low.

“This is a great accomplishment for our company,” says Barbara Ann O’Brien, Bonte’s Vice President. “This was huge team effort that has taken months to achieve. Bonté is only one of two meat processors in Atlantic Canada with BRC certification. There are twenty four food companies in Atlantic Canada with the BRC recognition; including many fish related processors and bakeries.” There are six food companies in New Brunswick with BRC recognition and 351 in Canada altogether.

Bonté Foods will become Atlantic Canada’s largest deli meat producer with the announced closing of the Moncton based Maple Leaf facility. Bonté employs 140 people and produces meat, sauce and bakery products under the brand names Bonté, Natures Deli and Chris Brothers. Bonté purchased Nova Scotia based Chris Brothers in 2005 as a compliment to its existing meat product lines. Bonté and Chris Brothers products can be found in restaurants and retailers across Canada. It has recently launched an all-natural no preservative line of pepperoni, ham and salami under the Nature’s Deli brand which can be found in all major grocery shelves in Atlantic Canada and at Wal-Mart supercenters in Ontario. Bonté Foods is also a federally inspected HACCP recognized facility.