Mim Cashew is 2nd Facility to be Approved for ACA Seal
This month, Mim Cashew is set to be officially certified under the ACA Quality and Sustainability Seal. The Ghanaian processor, with facilities in the Brong-Ahafo region of the country, will be the second company to receive this approval, following the inaugural certification of Tolaro Global in May of this year.
Mim began the Seal-approval process in March, when the ACA Seal Team Advisor Jim Giles visited the site for an initial assessment of the site. A follow-up visit in June provided further technical assistance and implementation support. The seal team returned again in September, when Mim was granted provisional ACA Seal approval.
“We conducted a detailed quality assessment of the whole factory, as a well as a physical inspection of the site,” said ACA Seal Advisor Gillian Epule. “The management has a good mindset, and we have been working closely with them to ensure the sustainability of the Seal at Mim.”
Mim’s provisional approval is expected to be made official by November. Giles, who was present for the final visit to the processing, commented on the “full support and cooperation on the part of Mim,” which no doubt facilitated the successful Seal implementation process.
At the 7th ACA Annual Conference in Cotonou, Benin, awareness and interest in the Seal was clear in the Sustainable Ideas and Realities session. Representatives from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), ACA, and Intersnack participated in a presentation and discussion on “Food Safety and ACA Seal,” in front of more than 60 conference attendees. Jeffrey Read of the FDA emphasized that given the organization’s new regulations, third party certifications are increasingly important for determining food safety. Programs like the ACA Seal have an important place within these governmental regulations, by facilitating the approval of African cashews by an FDA-accredited body in accordance with the new US laws.
“We believe the ACA seal provides a great opportunity to meet the requirements of the FDA law,” said Dan Phipps of Red River Foods in the U.S.
Stakeholders across the cashew value chain support the ACA seal, as it offers a safeguard against food safety issues that could threaten the stability and success of the cashew industry.
“Quality and safety are first and foremost on our list of concerns wherever we work in the world,” Mark Magnesen of Kraft Foods said. “We simply will not compromise on it.”
This kind of feedback indicated the increasing demand from all sides of the industry for these types of certification programs. “We saw a lot of new attention toward the Seal at the Conference,” remarked Giles. “Several companies have committed to the Seal, and several have expressed interest in doing so.”
Although it is too early to assign a success rate to the program, Giles noted strong indications from cashew stakeholders that the Seal program will fulfill its goal of approving eight more processors in the next year. “Buyers are supporting the Seal’s value – they’ve been asking for it for a long time,” he said. We now have to deliver and are on that track.”
