SriLankan Catering is now ‘triple certified’

SriLankan Catering has been awarded two more prestigious accreditations for food safety, placing it among the rare handful of in-flight catering companies anywhere in the world to have three global certifications.

SriLankan Catering just added the ISO22000:2005 and HACCP-Codex Alimentarius accreditations to its existing ISO9001:2000 standard.

Dilip Nijhawan, CEO of SriLankan Catering, said: “These certifications recognise SriLankan Catering’s products, systems and procedures as being of the highest global standards. This will have a tremendous impact on the levels of confidence that our customers have in us.”

“SriLankan Catering met full compliance at the professional audits that were performed by the certifying bodies prior to the certifications. These certifications have very strict standards and are extremely tough to obtain, and it is a tribute to the professionalism of our staff that an Asian company such as ours has achieved this feat,” Nijhawan added.

SriLankan Catering is the in-flight catering arm of SriLankan Airlines. It provides in-flight catering for SriLankan Airlines and other airlines that fly through Colombo, and also operates restaurants at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA). The company produces more than 13,500 meals per day in its state-of-the-art flight kitchen which was built at an investment of US$ 25 million.

Sudhish Pande, Production Manager at SriLankan Catering, said: “All credit to our staff for the manner in which they have performed, following the commissioning of our new flight kitchen in 2006. Their attitude, enthusiasm and drive took us a long way in implementing the highest standards. This in turn made it easier to obtain these certifications.”

The company has won many impressive global and local accolades in recent times, including a Mercury Award from the International Flight Catering Association, two Silver Medals and a Bronze Medal at the recent Hong Kong International Culinary Classic, and 23 medals at the Culinary Art 2007 Exhibition.

The ISO22000:2005 accreditation, which is the latest global standard in food safety, quality and hygiene set by the International Organisation for Standards and HACCP – Codex Alimentarius certification, was obtained after auditing by SGS of the United Kingdom. ISO 22000:2005 certification came with the SAS accreditation of Switzerland.

ISO22000:2005 provides strict standards and guidelines for management of the entire production process, beginning with how raw materials such as vegetables, meats and fruits are received, through the preparation of meals, and transportation right up to delivery.

Ruchira Kodituwakku, Hygiene and Quality Assurance Manager, said: “SriLankan Catering was able to meet these rigorous standards since we had already established Good Manufacturing Practises (GMPs) supported by a Food Safety Policy. Hazards related to our entire process were identified and controlled with best possible measures. We also prepared a plan of action, compiled detailed operational manuals for every department in the company, and trained our own executives to conduct internal audits to international standards.”