The Role of Food Safety, Quality and Equitable Standards in Cashew Nut Processing

Food safety and quality regulations have always been important. Research shows us that in Ancient Greece (fun history lesson) – in Athens – they had wine and beer regulations to inspect the purity of each. Since then, food safety laws have continued to evolve!

Businesses have found that it is much more beneficial to play along with the stipulations of the international food quality standards than trying to fight them. It allows these businesses to compete with major brands and markets across the globe. Some of the most important benefits include:

• Increased economic growth
• Guarantee that food is safe
• Increased business profits
• Higher quality jobs in the global food industry
• Better use of resources globally
• A dip in the chances of foodborne diseases
• Traceable documentation of how things were done and techniques used

Who are the organisations that make the cashew industry better?

There are bodies of authority and certifications that work hard to make sure hardworking cashew businesses get rewarded and the world benefits through cashew production that is safe and is of great quality.

Examples of these bodies & certifications are :

AFI

The Association of Food Industries (AFI) is a trade association that works on developing schedules that ease the business of its member companies. It also supports free and fair trade along with guiding compliance with U.S, laws and regulations. In other words, the AFI represents the U.S. food import industry. Cashew Coast received its certification because we met all the general requirements from the AFI under the Nut & Agricultural section. This includes specifications in cashew nuts such as quality, grading and sizing in order to get the highest possible quality in cashew nuts.

HACCP

Their full form is Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points. They are internationally known for being a management system in which the safety of food is scrutinised through the analysis and controlling of biological chemical, and physical hazards from any raw material produced.

This basically means they make sure that the cashews being produced are eco-friendly nuts and do not have any harmful substances in them such as microbiological threats. They also ensure our team is safe at work and the cashews are handled and distributed well before they reach the final consumer.

BRC

Known as the British Retail Consortium, this body makes sure that players in the food industry comply with the UK and EU’s food safety laws. They have set requirements that need to be followed to ensure that the cashews we produce are absolutely safe. You’ll notice that the objectives of the HACCP and BRC are the same. The difference comes in that BRC requires a lot more effort around food safety. Its standards are thoroughly specific and up-to-date with the current changes in the food industry.  The fantastic thing about being a holder of the BRC certificate is your cashew business is opened up to a market only enjoyed by those who are also certified. This is great for everyone because it means that cashew productions can only get better and better!

Organic certification by EcoCert

Transparency is a big deal to Cashew Coast. We openly talk about the materials that we use and work with independent authorities such as Ecocert to certify that our cashews are of the excellent quality that we say they are.

Ecocert is an inspection body and also an organic certification established in France in the year 1991. Covering over 80 countries, it has developed into one of the largest organic certification institutions globally. Ecocert also stands among one of the most respected labels in the field of standardization regarding organic farming and natural cosmetics. The label is known as the ‘Natural and Organic Cosmetic label’. It holds a minimum of 95% of all plant-based ingredients in the formula and the weight of ingredients coming from organic farming should reach about 10%. Ecocert then makes sure that our cashews have no GMO, animal-derived ingredients, and that no harmful chemicals have been used in the environment surrounding our cashews.

SMETA certification

SMETA certification is a social auditing method by Sedex. It is used to understand the working conditions at a business. In this instance, our workspace at Cashew Coast. The audit looks at things like whether the space is safe for the workers, they monitor health and check for any form of human rights abuse such as forced work or child labour. They have zero tolerance for any of these factors. Our SMETA certification helps to show that we care for everyone that we work with by maintaining a healthy environment for them. This certification is also proof that we are conducting business responsibly and meeting social compliance.

Equitable Certification

Equitable, fair trade plays its role in the cashew industry by monitoring how cashews are being bought and sold. This means that the Fair Trade Certification is dedicated to making sure trade practices at every level of the supply channel are audited and registered to the Fair Trade USA Agriculture Production (APS).

They encourage consumers to support farmers, the workers on the farm and anyone making a positive impact on agricultural and fishing communities through their daily purchases. Our Equitable Certification at Cashew Coast means that we’ve gained this distinctive recognition through a rigorous audit.

We’re immensely proud of our certifications because they serve as proof that our cashews are of high quality and are made mindfully protecting the environment and consumers. With this piece, we hope that we have educated you about the importance of certifications not only to the business but to the workers in the business and the final consumer. You’ll also be able to identify ethical cashew brands that help you get the full benefits of cashew nuts.