Global Food Safety initiative Certifies Dangote Sugar

Posted by African Examiner Business News, Latest Headlines Monday, March 7th, 2016

BALTIMORE, MD (AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Nigeria’s foremost sugar refinery, Dangote Sugar Refinery has successfully obtained the Food Safety Systems (FSSC 22000) Certification).

The certification which is a standard fully recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) comes on the heels of other standards already obtained by the refinery which include ISO 9001:2008, ISO 22000:2005 and ISO OHSAS 18001:2007.

The recommendation for DSR’s FSSC 22000 certification was given in November 2015, after series of painstaking processes, followed by internal and surveillance audits conducted by the SGS, a world leading Food Safety certification and standards organisation.

According to the acting Group Managing Director, Dangote Sugar Refinery, Abdullahi Sule, “This feat is part is of the Sugar Refinery’s strategic drive to meet its customer’s needs using good manufacturing practices, enhanced food safety culture and management systems, as well as to sustain its frontline position in the sugar sub-sector in line with internationally accepted practices and standards”.

He added, “the certifications will see to an increased consumer confidence in the Dangote Sugar brand, help eliminate production loss time in its refinery, and ultimately see to the realisation of an increased market share, with increased patronage by existing and prospective customers who have been eagerly awaiting the achievement of the FSSC 22000 certification by Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc”.

Dangote Sugar Refinery already has the Food Safety Management Systems certification (NIS ISO 22000:2005) issued by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON). The Food Safety Management System is a standard that guides the refinery’s core business, the refining of high quality sugar using safe practices to manufacture finished product using hygienically habits in the production processes.

The Food Safety Management System, FSMS, (ISO 22000:2005); certification was the third in the series of ISO certification on Quality, Process Safety/Security and Food Safety, achieved by the Sugar Refinery, and thus making it the only sugar organization in the country with three ISO certification.

In addition to the Food Safety Management System, (FSMS) ISO 22000:2005; Dangote Sugar Refinery is also ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System (QMS), and ISO 18001:2007 Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS), certified.

These certifications attest to Sugar Refinery’s relentless efforts at achieving its set goal to be one of the world’s leading integrated sugar producers, with high quality products and using best practices in the day to day running of its operations, in line with internationally accepted standards.

Dangote Sugar Refinery is actively pursuing a backward integration master plan with a target of producing a total of 1.5 million tons of sugar per annum. The target is to enable it meet the national sugar master plan.

It plans an additional investment of N180 billion for 4 factories in Sokoto and Kebbi States and has 150,000 hectares of land allocated for the project in Kogi, Kwara, Jigawa, Sokoto, Taraba and Kebbi states.

Dangote Sugar acquired the moribund 50, 000 tons per annum capacity sugar producing factory-the Savannah Sugar Company Limited in Numan, Adamawa State in 2002. The buy-over, midwifed by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), was the fallout of the failure of several attempts made by the Federal Government to reposition the nation’s foremost sugar company.

Dangote Industries Limited emerged as the preferred bidder and core investor and after which it quickly went into turnaround activities in the Company. To put the company back in shape, Dangote began investments of several billions of Naira. Specifically, N12 billion initial investments was made by Dangote Group as core running expenses into the business after the take-over in the first five years.

The areas that gulped the money, included factory and estate rehabilitation; purchase of vehicles, trucks and heavy duty equipment; salaries and wages; farm inputs like fertilizers and chemicals, among others; spare parts for factory and heavy duty equipment and payments in the form of Sugar Development Levy.