Almacafé, the coffee-warehousing subsidiary of the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia, has received two ISO awards from Bureau Veritas Quality International. ISO Certification 9001:2000 recognizes Almacafé’s thorough controls to select and classify parchment coffee at the Federation’s several hundred interior purchase stations and 25 coffee warehouses. In addition, Bureau Veritas certified Almacafe’s export classification system, through which all Colombian coffee must pass in order to earn export quality certification.
“The ISO award certifications represent an important step forward in our ability to demonstrate to our Colombian coffee customers that the Colombian coffee growers and their Federation support total quality from tree to cup, and that we apply verifiable standards to document this commitment,” said Gonzalo Rivera, general manager of Almacafé. He also noted that Almacafé has received ISO Certification 17025, attesting to the technical proficiency and reliability of its of 25 coffee quality control laboratories, located in both the interior and at the ports.
“The Federation’s track record in documenting and enforcing quality standards for Colombian coffee constitutes a great advantage to the many importers, roasters, and consumers who want to rely upon a verifiable quality audit trail,” he added. “It protects the quality of our product, and also helps prevent possible tampering incidents that might occur within the food chain” he added, noting that the US Food and Drug Administration recently issued guidelines to food processors and manufacturers against possible tampering incidents as a result of the September 11 tragedy.
The National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia is a non-profit democratic organization founded in 1927, and which today represents Colombia’s 560,000 coffee growers.
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