Smithfield Packing Company has achieved the USDA’s Process Verified Program (PVP) certification for all three of its processing facilities making the company the world’s largest pork company to be 100% process verified.
The USDA PVP assures retailers and consumers that traceability, animal handling and environmental standards have been met and benchmarked for continual improvement. The program is modeled after the International Organization for Standardization’s (ISO) 9000 quality management and quality assurance standards. Requirements for achieving certification include the use of USDA-approved processes, training and documentation.
According to the company’s website, Smithfield’s PVP:
- Verifies that producers who send animals to Smithfield Packing facilities can ensure the traceability of their livestock back to the animal’s farm of origin.
- Verifies all animals processed at Smithfield Packing facilities are raised on farms where a comprehensive management system is in place that addresses the health, welfare and proper use of animal health products to help assure a supply of high quality pork. This requires suppliers to be certified to National Pork Board Pork Quality Assurance III guidelines.
- Verifies that all drivers who transport animals to Smithfield Packing facilities are certified by the National Pork Board’s Trucker Quality Assurance guidelines. This certification helps assure that animal welfare is properly maintained. Drivers also are certified in implementing strict facility bio-security procedures.
- Verifies that all three processing plants maintain ISO 14001 environmental certification of their Environmental Management System (EMS).
Source:
Smithfield Foods