AsureQuality
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Native name | Kaitiaki Kai |
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Company type | Public Company |
Industry | Food Quality Assurance |
Predecessor | ASURE New Zealand Limited AgriQuality Limited |
Founded | Auckland, New Zealand (2007 | )
Headquarters | , New Zealand |
Number of locations | 100 |
Area served | |
Services |
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Owner | New Zealand Government |
Number of employees | 1800 |
Website | www |
AsureQuality Limited(previously AgriQuality Limited) is aState-Owned Enterprise (SOE)fully owned by the government ofNew Zealand.[1]The company's core business isfood quality assurancewith its services including certification, inspection, testing, and training. AsureQuality has over 1700 staff at over 100 locations throughout New Zealand. AsureQuality also has a joint venture partner,Bureau Veritas.[citation needed].Bureau Veritas and AsureQuality have two joint ventures, BVAQ Australia and BVAQ SouthEast Asia.[2][3][4][5][6]
Company history
[edit]AsureQuality was formed in 2007 from the merger of ASURE New Zealand Limited and AgriQuality Limited.[7]Both companies were originally formed in 1998 from the service delivery arm of theMinistry of Agriculture and ForestryQuality Management, with ASURE handling meat inspection and AgriQuality specialising in livestock, horticulture and forestry.[8]Following the merger the company employed more than 1700 staff at 140 sites throughout New Zealand andAustralia,with its primary laboratory inGracefield, New Zealand.[9]
In 2008 AsureQuality entered a partnership with the Hospitality Standards Institute to provide food safety training for the hospitality sector.[10]In 2010 it opened a wine-certification laboratory in Auckland;[11]in 2013 it expanded its Christchurch food-testing laboratory.[12]
In May 2010 it was among a group of SOEs valued for possible sale by the New Zealand government.[13]
In April 2016 the company acquired Australian laboratory-testing provider Dairy Technical Services.[14]
In November 2020 the company was fined $66,000 after pleading guilty to two breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act over an incident in which seven workers suffered chemical burns while cleaning aMycoplasma bovis-infected farm in 2018.[15]
Services
[edit]- Audit, inspection, testing, verification and certification
- Independent audit, inspection, verification and certification against local and international regulatory and retailer standards[16][17]
- Veterinary and field technician services including farm assurance, dairy farm assessment, sample collection,TBtesting and related disease management[18]
- Ante-mortemandpost-mortemmeat inspection[19]
- Food and contaminants testing
- Food testing and analysis against regulatory and retailer standards for pathogens, toxins, allergens, chemical residues, genetically modified organisms and nutritional information[20]
- Seed testing and certification for arable, dairy, and livestock farming and export[21]
- Specialist plant and pesttaxonomy,border control andpathologyservices[22]
- Diagnostics
- Contract manufacturing of diagnostic products and distribution of specialistveterinarytest kits for use in disease management programmes[23]
- Assurance Marks
AsureQuality Assurance Marks are on-pack symbols that distinguish and identify a product’s claims and supply chain transparency as having been independently verified.[24]
- AQ CertifiedAQ Certified provides independent and certified assurance relating to a specific claim. These claims can range from food safety through to animal welfare, grass fed, and much more.[25]
- AQ Assured Transparency ProgrammeAQ Assured Transparency Programme provides verified holistic supply chain transparency covering the entire food supply chain. This can also be accompanied by a QR code, which when scanned by consumer's mobile phone will direct them to each product’s information page, allowing them instant access in-store and on the go.[25]
- Training
- NZQA-approved training courses[26]are offered mainly to help Quality Control Managers, Internal Auditors, Food Producers, Technical Compliance Coordinators and other food industry professionals to improve their confidence and competence in their field of work
- Courses on Food Safety,HPCCAand Auditing[27][28][29]
- Biosecurity
- Under agreement with theMinistry for Primary Industries,AsureQuality provides readiness, capability, incursion response and surveillance services forbiosecurity[30][31][32]
References
[edit]- ^"Shareholdings".
- ^"AsureQuality extends Bureau Veritas partnership to SE Asia - sharechat.co.nz".sharechat.co.nz.Retrieved8 June2021.
- ^"Bureau Veritas partners with AsureQuality, establishing a food testing leader in South East Asia".Bureau Veritas.Retrieved8 June2021.
- ^"Analytical Laboratories - AsureQuality".Lab-works Architecture.Retrieved2 June2021.
- ^ Organic Exporters Association of New Zealand."Organic New Zealand - Members & Product Search".organictradenz.Retrieved2 June2021.
- ^ "The AsureQuality Story".AsureQuality.Retrieved2 June2021.
- ^"Merger gives company world-class potential".The Orchardist.Vol. 80, no. 10. 1 November 2007. pp. 64–65 – via EBSCOhost.
- ^Robyn Bristow (6 September 2007). "FOOD SAFETY VENTURE".The Press.p. A6 – via EBSCOhost.
- ^"A multinational approach to food safety".Dominion Post.20 February 2008. p. E18 – via EBSCOhost.
- ^"AsureQuality collaborates with HSI".Hospitality.1 June 2008. p. 18 – via EBSCOhost.
- ^"AsureQuality opens new export wine certification lab".Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker.No. 558. 1 July 2010. p. 79 – via EBSCOhost.
- ^Heather Chalmers (1 February 2013). "Food industry growth prompts lab expansion".Orchardist.pp. 12–13 – via EBSCOhost.
- ^Audrey Young (24 May 2010)."State assets assessed for sale to investors".New Zealand Herald.Retrieved8 June2021.
- ^"AsureQuality to acquire Dairy Technical Services".Scoop. 18 April 2016.Retrieved8 June2021.
- ^Blair Jackson (5 November 2020)."Companies fined after workers burned cleaning M. bovis farm in Southland".Stuff.Retrieved8 June2021.
- ^ "Animal Export – Animal Certification & Testing".AsureQuality.Retrieved2 June2021.
- ^ ASURE New Zealand Limited (27 September 2002)."100% of Meat Inspection Staff NZQA Registered".scoop.co.nz.Retrieved8 June2021.
- ^"Livestock".AsureQuality.Retrieved2 June2021.
- ^"Meat".AsureQuality.Retrieved2 June2021.
- ^"Quality Control Services for Food Manufacturers & Food Producers".AsureQuality.Retrieved2 June2021.
- ^"Seeds".AsureQuality.Retrieved2 June2021.
- ^"Horticulture".AsureQuality.Retrieved2 June2021.
- ^"Animal Disease Management - Livestock Management".AsureQuality.Retrieved2 June2021.
- ^"About AsureQuality Assurance Marks - AsureQuality Assurance Marks".aqassurancemarks.Retrieved3 March2023.
- ^ab"Assurance Marks - AsureQuality Assurance Marks".aqassurancemarks.Retrieved3 March2023.
- ^ New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA)."Organisations >> NZQA - AsureQuality Limited".nzqa.govt.nz.Retrieved2 June2021.
- ^"Academy | Professional Industry Training".AsureQuality.Retrieved1 June2021.
- ^ "AsureQuality training"(PDF).Archived(PDF)from the original on 26 February 2021.Retrieved1 June2021.
- ^ "AsureQuality Academy Launched".NZ Grower.Retrieved8 June2021.
- ^ "Veterinary Diagnostics".AsureQuality Diagnostics.Retrieved2 June2021.
- ^ "Entries open for 2020 New Zealand Biosecurity Awards".NZ Herald.Retrieved8 June2021.
- ^"Biosecurity".AsureQuality.Retrieved1 June2021.