ACA Quality and Sustainability Seal Strengthened by Flash Reminders
The ACA Quality and Sustainability Seal is recognized internationally as an industry-wide accepted certification program ensuring compliance with global standards of quality, food safety, and fair labor standards. The program is compliant with all of the stipulations outlined by the US Food Safety Modernization Act. The Seal program was established with a threefold vision: to increase African cashew competitiveness in the global market; to provide expert services to processors at a discount price; and to help the African industry to avoid making mistakes that older industries in other parts of the world have already made.
The unique value of the ACA Seal lies in the way that the process for receiving the Seal is tailored to each individual processor, in order to maximize efficiency and remedy locally-specific issues. ACA Seal Coordinator Peter Nyarko is responsible for conducting an initial assessment of the processing facility, and identifying areas that must be addressed in order to meet the benchmark requirements for the Seal program. He then works with the leadership and management teams to develop a roadmap, outlining the changes that must be made and guidance on how to accomplish these changes. Approximately one year after the gap assessment is completed, Mr. Nyarko returns to the facility to evaluate their progress, and to conduct a final audit if it appears that they are ready to be certified. If all factory operations comply with the required standards, the factory receives the ACA Seal.
In the period between the initial visit and the final assessment, regular communication is maintained through the Seal Flash, a unique feature of the Seal program. Sent via email to each processor on a bi-weekly basis, the Flashes are quick tips and reminders of the various standards and requirements of the Seal. Every two weeks, a new Flash with a new reminder is disseminated, covering different tips regarding the Seal’s 14 food safety and quality standards, from hand washing to clothing requirements to equipment cleaning. Many processors print these out and display them in relevant areas of their facilities. For example, one processor in Kenya has hung a Flash regarding proper use of waste receptacles on each of the facility’s garbage bins.
Since its development in 2011 and official launch in 2012, the ACA has approved six processors across Africa as meeting the standards of the Seal: Tolaro Global in Benin; Mim Cashew in Ghana; Jungle Nuts in Kenya; Anatrans in Burkina Faso; Equatorial Nut Processors in Kenya; and Cajou Espoir in Côte d’Ivoire. Seven more processors are currently in the process of acquiring the Seal.
As the program gains wider international attention, there is an increased demand among international buyers and consumers to purchase ACA-approved cashews: two major snack companies – Kraft Foods (USA) and Intersnack (Europe) – have already committed to buy only ACA-certified cashews. The Seal program has achieved so much success that it is now one of the major drivers of ACA membership.
