Munchee, the flagship brand of Sri Lanka’s leading biscuit manufacturer Ceylon Biscuits Ltd. (CBL), was recently awarded with the prestigious AA (Double A) Certification by the internationally renowned British Retail Consortium (BRC). CBL is the only biscuit manufacturing company in South Asian region to win BRC’s AA certification. CBL QA Manager Shyama Rajapakse accepted the certification on behalf of the CBL from International Featured Standards (IFS) Global Product Manager Joachim Schulz, in the presence of CBL Group Managing Director Sheamalee Wickramasingha and CBL Chief Executive Officer Nalin Karunaratne. SGS Lanka Country Manager N. Sriram and SGS Lanka Business Manager Chamika Wimalasiri also graced the occasion. 

The globally recognised AA Certification is the highest grade awarded by the UK based food safety standard certification body – BRC. CBL received the certification following a stringent benchmarking and meticulous quality assurance assessment conducted by a team of experts from SGS Lanka, an affiliate of SGS – the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification body. BRC certification is highly acclaimed and sought by retail and food service industries, as it is a mandatory certification demanded by suppliers from Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia, North and South America as well as Australia. 

The certification also testifies the extensive measures taken by the recipient for constant monitoring and quality improvement to maintain highest levels of competence throughout in all aspects of manufacturing. 

Addressing the gathering, Chief Guest Joachim Schulz elaborated on the importance of Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), a global body which collaborates with world’s leading food actors and experts in a bid to improve food safety management systems across the world. Schulz said, “The main vision of the GFSI is ‘Safe food for consumers everywhere’, ensuring high quality food is delivered safely to all consumers worldwide. Every auditor across the world is rating in the same way to retain consistency. This is only the entry step, but you have already achieved the best certification with the highest recognition in the global market. GFSI certification, which includes BRC scheme, is a big chunk in improving quality and safety of food.” 

Schulz also explained on the new drives undertaken by the GFSI, shedding light upon new issues such as food defence and food fraud – that require thorough attention from those involved in the food industry to prevent falling victim to potential irregularities within the food chain. 

Expressing her heartiest thanks to the hardworking and dedicated team of CBL, Sheamalee Wickramasingha added, “Previous year CBL clinched the ‘Most Outstanding Exporter of the Year’ award. Being a non-traditional exporter who competes against very large exporters, this is not an easy accolade to win. BRC has broadened our scope, and helped us open new markets and reach new customers. I’m really happy to announce today that we have received the first confirmed order from SPAR supermarket in China, a market we have been working quite hard to enter. This is indeed an endorsement of our commitment to what we do.”

CBL maintains its high quality across all platforms, allowing consumers in Sri Lanka as well as overseas to taste and experience the richness and goodness of CBL biscuits in the same manner. The company’s manufacturing process incorporates the most modern technology, innovation and industry’s best practices, placing CBL as a market leader in Sri Lanka. 

The mission to achieving the BRC’s AA certification began four years back, which saw to the steering of the staff of CBL as a single team striving towards a common goal. Today, CBL is a multi-award winning company, with an arsenal filled with numerous awards, certifications and accolades both local and overseas. Among these milestones, is the moment of CBL being crowned as the ‘Most Outstanding Exporter of the Year’ at the NCE Export Awards 2017, where the company clinched four prestigious gold awards while competing against some of the biggest brands in the country.