BRC and IFS Certifications
The main reference market for food processing companies is large-scale retail trade, which has introduced its own quality standards (including BRC and IFS) that processing companies can choose to comply with, subjecting themselves to strict and rigorous controls.
These standards were developed by the main associations of English (BRC – British Retail Consortium) and German distributors (IFS – International Featured Standards) in order to define the quality requirements that food suppliers must comply with in order to access their respective markets.
Both the BRC and IFS standards envisage that a food processing company:
a) implements a hygiene self-monitoring system (HACCP),
b) implements a quality management system,
c) manages production processes through specific procedures,
d) defines a process monitoring and control system,
e) manages resources (both human and technological),
f) carries out periodic staff education and training,
g) complies with environmental regulations,
all in addition to total compliance with current national and European regulations related to food safety and hygiene (labelling, traceability, etc.).
Considering that our company exports its products to various foreign countries both inside and outside Europe, in 2004 it decided to obtain certification for both of the product certification standards proposed by the retailers.
The company has always passed the scheduled annual checks, demonstrating its complete compliance with the two standards which international certification bodies have always recognised as being of the highest level.
Organic product certification
The Company has requested and obtained compliance with Reg. CE 834/2007 for its own wine production as well as its production and commercial processes, having scheduled, periodic checks carried out.
SQNPI Certifications
The wines of Cembra Cantina di Montagna are symbolic of a wine-making tradition that links nature to technology in a unique mountain setting. The SQNPI brand guarantee has also presently been added to this production philosophy, contributing to the preservation of biodiversity and the beauty of a land that has preserved its vine-laden landscapes for centuries.
This commitment is shared with the Trentino Wine Protection Consortium, the Ministry for Agricultural and Forestry Policies, the Higher Health Institute and the E. Mach Foundation, which all work together to reduce the use of synthetic phyto-health products in the cultivation of grapes as well as to preserve the balance between agriculture, environmental protection and safeguarding the health of both the consumer and the wine-grower partner.
The first link of a long supply chain at Cembra Cantina di Montagna is the wine-grower partner. Professionalism and preparation are the starting point for the integrated defence put into practice by all the wine-grower partners who:
- adopt monitoring systems for assessing the phyto-health conditions of the vines;
- promote phyto-health defence through organic, biotechnological, physical and agronomic methods as an alternative to chemical products;
- limit operators’ exposure to risks deriving from the use of phyto-health products;
- rationalise the distribution of phyto-health products by limiting their quantity, any waste and losses due to drift;
- participate in training on cultivation systems that respect the environment and biodiversity;
- limit pollution deriving from the incorrect preparation of solutions and their disposal;
- properly dispose of phyto-health product containers
The wine-grower partners must also have in-depth knowledge of soil characteristics in order to choose the best variety for a terroir, one that can enhance the specificities of the different Trentino wine-growing areas using young non-genetically modified vine shoots.
The technical assistance SQNPI agronomists offer our wine-growers is fundamental for favouring the preservation of the natural agroecosystem, for increasing biodiversity through sexual confusion, and in providing a method for controlling harmful parasites through the installation of monitoring traps and maintenance of the soil’s biological fertility. The wine-grower partners use computerised notebooks to collect and record data and monitor compliance with the integrated production specifications for growing grapes which have been approved by the Autonomous Province of Trento.
In addition to certifying its grapes, in 2017 Cembra Cantina di Montagna obtained SQNPI certification for its bottled wines. Every phase of the grape processing cycle and wine-making process is accurately tracked in the production registers, facilitating quality controls and the separation of any product if any non-conformities are detected.
The SQNPI certification therefore guarantees the total compliance of our bottled wines with the integrated production specifications, guaranteeing sustainable wine with a reduced environmental impact: today all of Cembra Cantina di Montagna’s wines are the utmost testimony of excellent results obtained in full harmony with the wine-makers who produce them and the surrounding environment.