The certification of the Tarancon (Cuenca) slaughterhouse in accordance with the Interporc Animal Welfare Spain (IAWS) Technical Regulation on Animal Welfare and Biosafety underlines the company´s commitment to animal welfare.
The SAE certification of the El Consorcio de Jabugo (Huelva) and Tarancon (Cuenca) drying facilities boosts the company´s commitment to exports.
With regard to sustainability, the Tarancon slaughterhouse and the Corral de Almaguer dryer (Toledo) have been certified as suitable facilities for organic production. In addition, the new drying facility has also been ISO 14001-certified.
Incarlopsa, the Castilla-La Mancha-based market leader in the production and processing of pork products, ended the 2020 financial year having obtained six new certifications for its production plants. The renewal of the company´s previous accreditations plus these half a dozen new certifications means the company now has 70 certificates in terms of animal welfare, environmental commitment and food quality and safety at its 11 production plants located in Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y Leon, the Valencian Community and Andalusia.
As such, in terms of food safety, Incarlopsa has the two benchmark international certificates in this area: the Global Standard for Food Safety (BRC), a certification standard created in the United Kingdom, and the International Food Standard (IFS), a standard promoted by the retail associations in Germany, France and Italy.
Among other aspects, both standards attest to compliance with the requirements of a HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) system and require a documented quality management system, control of the environmental conditions at the facilities, processes, personnel and products, in addition to the commitment of the senior management of companies in the food sector wishing to obtain both certifications in relation to their responsibility in managing these processes.
Expansion of the animal welfare certification for the Tarancon slaughterhouse
Incarlopsa is firmly committed to animal welfare. Hence, the company expanded the certification of the Tarancon slaughterhouse in this regard in 2020. In addition to the AENOR Animal Welfare WELFAIR™ certification in accordance with the Welfare Quality and Awin® standards, the facility has now been certified in accordance with the Interporc Animal Welfare Spain (IAWS) Technical Regulations on Animal Welfare and Biosafety.
Obtaining this certification is totally voluntary and any company wishing to apply for it needs to undergo an exhaustive audit encompassing compliance with this regulation, which is reviewed by an independent scientific committee and animal protection associations. The Interporc Animal Welfare Spain (IAWS) Technical Regulation on Animal Welfare and Biosafety ensures compliance with the five principles of animal welfare established by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE): freedom from hunger, thirst and malnutrition; freedom from fear and distress; freedom from heat stress and physical discomfort; freedom from pain, injury and disease; and freedom to express normal patterns of behaviour.
Six quality certificates in response to consumer demand
In terms of quality, Incarlopsa possesses six different certifications applicable to the different types of product and the facilities at which they are produced, one of which is the Traditional Specialty Guaranteed (TSG) Seal for Serrano Ham certification. Only certain manufacturers can use the registered name ‘Serrano ham’ and the community seal that certifies it, which thereby acknowledges the intrinsic quality of this product.
The company is also SAE (Specific Self-Control System)-certified, which attests to compliance with Royal Decree 993/2014, which establishes the requirements for official veterinary certification for exports and which is essential for companies wishing to export to third countries. Each production plant has to be certified individually, and as such Incarlopsa obtained SAE certification for the Jabugo and Tarancon drying facilities in 2020.
In line with this commitment to quality, all the group’s production plants have been certified in accordance with to the Iberian standard, which guarantees compliance with Royal Decree 4/2014 of January 2014 and is essential in order to label the company´s products under this protected name. Moreover, the plants located in the municipality of Jabugo in the province of Huelva are certified under the Protected Name of Origin (DOP by its acronym in Spanish) in accordance with (EU) European Parliament and Council Regulation nº 1151/2012.
Furthermore, the processed products plant located in Tarancon is V-label-certified, an internationally recognised symbol for the labeling of vegan and vegetarian products and services in response to the social requirements for this type of products.
Environmental commitment certified in accordance with standard ISO 14.001
Incarlopsa’s production plants are certified in accordance with the standard on Environmental Management Systems (EMS) ISO 14.001, attesting to the group’s environmental commitment, and the company has applied for and obtained certification for the new Tarancon drying plant. In addition, the company´s carbon footprint was UNE-EN ISO 14064-1:2012-certified for the second year in a row in 2020.
Moreover, in terms of sustainability, Incarlopsa also obtained organic production certification for the Tarancon slaughterhouse and the Corral de Almaguer drying facility in 2020. This production model is an agricultural management and food production system featuring the best practices with regard to the environment and climate, a high level of biodiversity, the preservation of natural resources and the implementation of high standards of animal welfare and production pursuant to (EU) European Parliament and Council Regulation 848/2018.