Our promise to all stakeholders is to deliver ‘Quality you can trust.’ Since 1977, we have been committed to delivering products and services that are manufactured to global best practice standards for quality and food safety. This also forms a key part of our Doing better every day strategy.
The integrity of the Almarai food safety and quality systems is the shared responsibility of all Almarai employees to ensure ‘Quality you can trust’ in all our products and services. The integrity, capability, and effectiveness of our systems is supported by training and various multilevel internal audit programs, independently verified by globally recognized certification and inspection bodies who carry out both announced and unannounced system audits and physical inspections at our sites.
In 2021, all our manufacturing operations have achieved the Food Safety System Certification (FSSC) 22000 v 5.1, which is a Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) recognized scheme. Our operations also hold ISO 9001 quality management system certifications.
To maintain our strong quality and food safety performance, we recognize that it is also important that our employees are well trained within a culture of quality. Employees are provided with tailored training on an annual basis provided by international experts such as AIB International and Campden BRI (UK). We also have a recognition program in place to support the development of our quality culture.
In 2021 we have produced a revised Food Safety and Quality Policy that outlines our commitments and strategy towards maintaining the highest standards of safety and quality in the products we manufacture. As part of this policy, we have continued to commit ourselves to the certifications and management systems that govern our approach and will continue to maintain best practice in line with international guidelines.
Zero incidents of non-compliance with regulations and/or voluntary codes concerning the health and safety impacts of products and services
Zero number of recalls
100% of sites certified to the Food Safety System Certification 22000, recognized by GFSI
100% of significant product categories covered by and assessed for compliance with product information and labeling procedures
Almarai takes the health, safety, and wellbeing of our customers seriously and strives to ensure that all our food items are safe and nutritious. Almarai Manufacturing Facilities achieved Food Safety certification according to FSSC 22000 v5.1, a standard recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), an alliance of world-leading consumer goods companies to ensure safe food for all. With this certification, our customers and clients can rest assured that the food they are purchasing has been assured for quality and safety. In addition to our achievement in adopting FSSC 22000 Standard, Almarai’s manufacturing facilities obtained the highest rating (A+) from the Saudi Food and Drug Authority as part of a program for evaluating food establishments in the Kingdom.
For the fourth consecutive year, Almarai hosted the Food Safety Conference in 2021. The conference is an opportunity for public and private sector representatives to come together to meet and discuss innovative practices that ensure food safety for a sustainable future. The 2021 conference was conducted with safety and accessibility in mind and was hosted entirely virtually in the presence of representatives from the Food and Drug Authority in Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Environment and Water and Agriculture, the US Food and Drug Authority, the Food and Drug Authority of Jordan, and Dubai Municipality.
One of the key aspects of our Quality Management System is our commitment to continuous improvement, and we recognize that the principles of our sustainability strategy, “Doing better every day”, are perfectly aligned to this. As we celebrated World Quality Day 2021, we reflected on our achievements in ensuring the best quality to our consumers and on our ambition to lead the way in our sector. To raise awareness on Almarai’s approach to quality, we communicated our achievements in our three sustainability pillars, “Caring for People”, “Protecting the Planet”, and “Producing Responsible Products”. We followed our internal communication activities with online quizzes that led to a high level of employee engagement.
| Goal/Target | Progress |
|---|---|
| All manufacturing sites will have Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) recognized certification by 2025 |  |
| All high-risk ingredient suppliers will have Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) recognized certification by 2025 |  |
