Our company has obtained the prestigious and highly demanding international food safety quality certificate – IFS Food. We have become the first and only meat processing company in Estonia to meet such high quality standards.
IFS (International Featured Standard) is one of the world’s three leading international food safety certifications, recognised by the GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative). This certification sets strict requirements for quality management, food safety, transparency of production processes and their continuous improvement. Obtaining the certificate confirms that the company’s production processes comply with the highest international quality and food safety standards.
“According to the results of the IFS audit, we achieved the highest possible rating. This certificate clearly demonstrates Nõo Lihatööstus’ core principle – to comply with the highest quality standards, thereby ensuring the company’s growth and development. We do nothing merely ‘for the sake of ticking a box’ – everything that is implemented works on a daily and continuous basis,” said Ragnar Loova, Chairman of the Management Board of Nõo Lihatööstus. “Moreover, the rigorous audit and the certification itself are essential for international cooperation. If we wish to work with partners in more distant markets, the IFS certificate gives them full confidence in our reliability.”
In the meat processing industry, obtaining the IFS Food certificate is particularly challenging, as production takes place in a so-called “open process”, which creates very high requirements for quality management. “Meat processing is one of the most complex industries in which such a certification can be implemented,” emphasised Leanella Kungla, Quality Manager of Nõo Lihatööstus. “Our production processes are extremely transparent, unlike, for example, dairy processing, where everything takes place in closed pipelines. This openness increases risks, and minimising them requires in-depth analysis and daily effort. Our entire quality management system is based on risk analysis – it determines how often and exactly what is checked and controlled on a daily basis.”
The IFS Food certificate is accompanied by a wide range of strict requirements that ensure compliance with the highest international standards and involve regular audits. For Nõo Lihatööstus, this certification opens up unique opportunities in global markets, where many major retail chains specifically require such certification. The presence of the IFS certificate also assures consumers that Nõo Lihatööstus products meet the highest quality and food safety requirements. Since 2019, Nõo Lihatööstus has also held a food safety management system certification in accordance with the FSSC 22000 standard. Nõo Lihatööstus is Estonia’s leading meat product manufacturer and has also received the title of Best Family Business.
