Munchee receives British Retail Consortium’s ‘AA’ certification

CBL QA Manager Shyama Rajapakse accepts BRC ‘AA’ certification from IFS Global Product Manager Joachim Schulz in the presence of CBL Group Managing Director Sheamalee Wickramasingha, CBL Chief Executive Officer Nalin Karunaratne and CBL Assistant QA Manager Sachini Jayasekara

Munchee, the flagship brand of Sri Lanka’s leading biscuit manufacturer Ceylon Biscuits Limited (CBL), was recently awarded with the prestigious ‘AA’ (Double A) certification by the internationally renowned British Retail Consortium (BRC).

CBL is the only biscuit manufacturing company in the South Asian region to win BRC’s AA certification. CBL QA Manager Shyama Rajapakse accepted the certification on behalf of CBL from International Featured Standards (IFS) Global Product Manager Joachim Schulz in the presence of CBL Group Managing Director Sheamalee Wickramasingha and CBL Chief Executive Officer Nalin Karunaratne. SGS Lanka Country Manager N. Sriram and SGS Lanka Business Manager Chamika Wimalasiri also graced the occasion.

The globally recognised ‘AA’ certification is the highest grade awarded by the UK-based food safety standard certification body – BRC. CBL received the certification following a stringent benchmarking and meticulous quality assurance assessment conducted by a team of experts from SGS Lanka, an affiliate of SGS, the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification body.

The BRC certification is highly acclaimed and sought by the retail and food service industries, as it is a mandatory certification demanded by the suppliers from Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, North and South America as well as Australia. The certification also testifies the extensive measures taken by the recipient for constant monitoring and quality improvement to maintain the highest levels of competence throughout in all aspects of manufacturing.

Addressing the gathering, Chief Guest IFS Global Product Manager Joachim Schulz elaborated on the importance of Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), a global body which collaborates with the world’s leading food actors and experts in a bid to improve food safety management systems across the world.

Schulz said: “The main vision of the GFSI is ‘safe food for consumers everywhere’, ensuring high-quality food is delivered safely to all consumers worldwide. Every auditor across the world is rating in the same way to retain consistency. This is only the entry step, but you have already achieved the best certification with the highest recognition in the global market. The GFSI certification, which includes the BRC scheme, is a big chunk in improving the quality and safety of food.”

Schulz also explained on the new drives undertaken by the GFSI, shedding light upon the new issues such as food defence and food fraud, that require thorough attention from those involved in the food industry to prevent falling victim to potential irregularities within the food chain.

Expressing her heartiest thanks to the hardworking and dedicated team of CBL, CBL Group Managing Director Sheamalee Wickramasingha added: “Previous year, CBL clinched the ‘Most Outstanding Exporter of the Year’ award. Being a non-traditional exporter who competes against very large exporters, this is not an easy accolade to win. BRC has broadened our scope and helped us open new markets and reach new customers. 

I’m really happy to announce today that we have received the first confirmed order from SPAR supermarket in China, a market we have been working quite hard to enter. This is indeed an endorsement of our commitment to what we do.”