The Abattoir

FOOD SAFETY ACCOLADE FOR ABATTOIR 

The KLEIN KAROO Group in Oudtshoorn has become the first ostrich abattoir ever in the world to receive the international HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) certification for food safety. The past few months the abattoir has been monitored by the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) to determine whether it meets certain critical hygienic, tracing and production requirements.  

According tot the Regional Director of the SABS in the Western Cape, Steven Lashmar, the safety of food an the environment has become prerequisites for international food marketing. He made it quite clear that access to world markets will depend more and more on the commitment of producers to account for the safety of consumers. 

At the presentation of the certificate Mr Lashmar said that this accolade of an international industrial code of conduct is a guarantee that meat processed by KLEIN KAROO meet the strictest requirements. This apply to the slaughtering, de-boning, de-skinning and packaging of export quality ostrich meat, and especially for the portioning of the meat. Such an award will give peace of mind to any consumer anywhere in the world. 

“It is a dynamic and purposeful set of requirements that do not only exist on paper. The international as well as the South African Accrediting Association regularly monitor the requirements set by the SABS. This ensures that the certification is done under strict control and thus respected all over the globe. The SABS is proud to be associated with the business-like approach of KLEIN KAROO,” he added. 

The executive chairman of the KLEIN KAROO Group, Kobus Goosen, confirmed that clients are becoming more and more selective and that they will in future pass suppliers who cannot show this certification on their product. He pointed out that the HACCP certification is an international prerequisite, among others, on the products of the McDonald’s Group.   

Mr Goosen says the accolade and certificate proves that the KLEIN KAROO abattoir without any doubt meets the strict standards set for food hygiene. He thanked one and all that were involved in the establishment and maintaining of the required hygienic standards for the HACCP certificate.   

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The preparation for the grading of the abattoir was done under the leadership of Demona McKinnon of the research section of KLEIN KAROO, assisted by the abattoir manager, Len Droomer, Piet Warnick and section managers Eugene de Bod en Leon Stander.   

The HACCP system is an internationally accredited code of conduct to which production, processing and packaging conditions are to adhere to guarantee, in this case, the internationally well known hallmark of quality of KLEIN KAROO. This ensures that the plants take the maximum care of food safety by continuous strict control.