BI Certified SQF 2000

LONG BEACH, Calif.NSF International certified BI Nutraceuticals' headquarters as a SQF 2000 (Safe Quality Food) facility, providing independent certification that the supplier's food safety and quality management systems comply with international and domestic food safety regulations. The company also plans to obtain SQF certifications for its other North American facilities in the near future, according to George Pontiakos, president and CEO, BI Nutraceuticals.

SQF 2000 certification is a Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) recognized scheme, which was launched to enhance food safety, ensure consumer protection and strengthen consumer confidence.

"This globally trusted food safety and quality certification provides an additional level of assurance and commitment to our customers that BI's ingredients have been produced, processed, prepared and handled according to the highest possible quality standards across all levels of the supply chain," Pontiakos noted. "BI is the only nutraceutical raw material supplier to attain this certification, and we are very pleased that our industry leading quality and sourcing programs are recognized by SQF."

SQF 2000 is a HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) based food safety and quality management system. The Food Safety Modernization Act, which was recently signed into law by President Obama, makes it mandatory for all dietary supplement raw material suppliers to perform hazard analysis and have a risk-based food safety plan.

"In today's marketplace no company can ignore food safety standards in any part of its supply chain," added Pontiakos.

BI Nutraceuticals is a global full-service supplier of dietary supplement and functional food ingredients including whole herb powders and teas, standardized and drug ratio extracts, custom blends, vitamins, minerals, drum to hopper custom blends, granular ingredients and other specialty processes including time-released and encapsulated ingredients. The company currently offers more than 200 ingredients that have been determined as safe for use in foods and beverages by FDA or the Flavors and Extracts Manufacturers Association (FEMA).