12 May 2010 --- Sabinsa’s Kunigal plant near Bangalore, India has just received Bureau Veritas ISO 22000 Certification. The Bureau Veritas Certification mark is recognized world wide as a symbol of a company’s commitment to excellence, reliability and sustainability.

This same Sabinsa facility was GMP certified by NSF International earlier this year. Although Sabinsa has six separate manufacturing facilities, approximately 90% of its nutritional ingredients are produced in the Kunigal facility. 

“Today there is an increased emphasis on the quality and safety of ingredients used in dietary supplements and foods,” said Sabinsa founder Dr. Muhammed Majeed.  “At the same time, most companies are now sourcing ingredients globally, making it more difficult to audit supplier facilities personally. We realize that clearly demonstrating Sabinsa’s commitment to the highest manufacturing standards, with third party verification, assists our customers in meeting their ingredient needs with confidence.”

Numerous standards have been developed addressing food safety, from specific company standards, to retailer standards and legal regulations, while at the same time food safety concerns have become common worldwide. With the safety of food and food ingredients now a major global issue, a single standard addressing food safety principles with worldwide reach became necessary. The ISO 22000 standard is the first international standard for implementation of a certified food safety management system. Requirements include:

Interactive communication: The Standard requires the company to proactively communicate with key stakeholders in order to understand their needs and demands, and inform them of any variances.

System Management: The Standard builds on ISO 9001:2000 to enhance the implementation of effective food safety systems.

Hazard control: An effective system that can control food safety hazards to acceptable levels in end products or delivered to the next step in the food chain.

Combining food safety principles: The ISO 22000 Standard can dynamically combine the HACCP principles and application steps with other prerequisite programs (PRP) to ensure hazard control using a combination of control measures.

Bureau Veritas Certification was part of the technical committee that developed the ISO 22000 standard from the very beginning. It was the first international certification body worldwide to obtain ISO 22000 accreditation from DANAK. Bureau Veritas is now accredited worldwide by the international accreditation body UKAS. They operate in more than 100 countries.

Sabinsa’s mission is to provide alternative and complementary natural products for human nutrition and well-being. Over the past 20 years, Sabinsa has brought to market more than 100 standardized botanical extracts and privately funded several clinical studies in conjunction with prestigious institutions in support of these products. With more than 100 full time scientists conducting ongoing research in India and the United States, Sabinsa continues to develop and patent phytonutrients for the world market. All products intended for human consumption are certified Kosher, with many certified Halal.