Quality Control

On December 16th 1999 Bell-Vista was simultaneously audited by SGS for ISO9001 and SQF2000. Subsequently the company has been accredited to both these standards. ISO 9001 is a globally recognised business audit system which until recently was mainly achieved by large corporations. It was therefore a considerable achievement for a company particularly in the very difficult industry of fruit and vegetable handling to reach the standards required to satisfy the auditors from the international organisation SGS.
 
This means that customers can be assured that the very best food safety and handling procedures have been implemented. A massive recent investment has been the construction of the refrigerated packing area. This enables the fruit and vegetables to be kept at ideal temperatures during the packing, trimming and washing processes even during the hot summer days. Key members of staff have been trained by food safety experts to form a HACCP team who are then responsible to ensure that all critical areas of food safety are monitored and recorded. As part of the drive to deliver safe quality food to all customers a full product traceability system has been introduced and random microbial tests are carried out on produce and handling equipment.
 
The SQF2000 system (Safe Quality Food 2000) has been developed by AGWEST and is another great West Australian system now receiving international recognition and is set to become the world standard for food safety in the 21st century. It is therefore all the more exciting to see a West Australian wholesaler and exporter using the world’s best practice in updating its produce handling procedures and facilities.
 
The staff and management at Bell-Vista are justifiably proud of their achievements and are confident that this will strengthen their position as the market leader.