GOOD
TO KNOW
We take pride in looking after our environment and our people.
Aqunion is a company that is self-aware of its impact on its immediate environment, including our neighbours and our community. Our responsible trading efforts extend to our footprint on the environment, as well as how we empower our people and stakeholders.
Food Safety
We take food safety very seriously in order to ensure that every single product supplied by Aqunion is of the very highest standard. All our sites and our products adhere to stringent local and international quality and technical regulations.
Every single product supplied by Aqunion meets stringent food safety standards. In South Africa the food-safety of our abalone is very strictly regulated by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ Shellfish Monitoring Program and by the National Regulator of Compulsory Specifications (NRCS).
The NRCS is the regulatory arm of the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) and the mandated authority for food safety of South Africa. The SABS is highly regarded internationally for their high standards and is the competent authority appointed by the European Union for product importation and certification in South Africa.
South Africa is a signatory to the Codex Alimentarius International Food Standards and the Shellfish Monitoring Program and the requirements of the NRCS are thus at least as stringent as that of Codex.
Our farms and our product are tested for and certified safe with regards to the following:
Microbiological contamination – salmonella, e-coli, vibrio
Heavy metals – lead, mercury and cadmium
Pesticides and various organic pollutants
Radiation (standard food testing) – radionuclides
BIOSECURITY
We believe that healthy and happy animals ultimately taste better, so that is why we are proud to belong to the South African Abalone Health Programme, which is one of the best of its kind in the world. Headed up by Dr Anna Mouton and managed by Amanzi Biosecurity, it means that all parts of the farming process are regularly monitored by a team of expert veterinarians who assess their health status and guide us to ensure our animals are in top condition. Electricity is a critical component of our business, therefore Aqunion is investigating a number of alternative energy projects in an effort to minimise our impact on the environment.
Aqunion will be installing a hydro-electric plant during 2016, which will generate electricity from the effluent water at the Gansbaai site, as it flows back to the sea.
A pilot project for the on-site generation of solar energy is planned for 2016.
