Food Safety
Our customers trust Hines Nut Company to provide them the best tasting and safest products available, and we consider it our moral obligation to safeguard each other and the products we produce. As a family owned and operated organization, we work every day to retain that trust, and have for five generations.
We begin the Food Safety and Food Defense process by only doing business with growers and manufacturers who take food safety very seriously. Our approved product suppliers are required to meet very specific food and safety requirements as well as quality assurance guidelines.
We are constantly raising our own standards of excellence. Just a few of the things we do in our facility to safeguard our products and protect our customers are:
Product is handled under sanitary conditions which do not expose it to the risk of contamination and is processed in the quickest time possible to minimize exposure to risk. Our cleaning procedures are monitored and validated with our Environmental Monitoring Program.
SSOP (Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures) have been developed for the facility and grounds and include cleaning and sanitizing the warehouse and equipment daily (and at every change over).
Food safety training for all employees is conducted a minimum of four times per year providing them the information and tools necessary to perform their tasks in the most hygienic, safe manner.
All employees are required to comply with all company food safety policies and procedures.
Food Defense and Security programs have been developed for the facility and grounds and include biometric employee identification, security cameras and controlled facility access.
A detailed written and tested recall procedure, with annual mock recalls has been developed and implemented.
Monitored pest control programs are in place and are constantly being reviewed and improved.
Hines follows the strictest possible protocols to protect our customers and employees whenever concerns arise due to pandemic alerts and always has PPEs available.
HACCP was designed by Pillsbury for NASA to ensure our astronauts have the safest food in the universe. We use the same guidelines and require our suppliers to work within those same guidelines, to ensure our customers have the safest product on earth. HACCP is a proactive approach to eliminate possible cross-contamination by physical, chemical or biological and radiological means. A complete HACCP program has been developed for all products entering and leaving our warehouse. There are Five HACCP trained Managers on staff full time at Hines, along with five full time PCQI's and a Food Safety Director and assistant Food Safety Director and two SQF practitioners.
Third Party Food Safety Inspections: The GFSI recognition of the PrimusGFS Certification Program helps move the food industry one step closer to the desired goal of global food safety harmonization. "Once certified, accepted everywhere". Primus GFS is a Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) benchmarked and fully recognized audit Certification Program covering and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) scopes, as well as Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS). This certification recognizes Hines Nut Company’s manufacturing and packaging facilities are committed to achieving worldwide best practices in the food industry.
2021 Hines Nut Company has added two SQF Practitioners to start converting our modules to be in compliance with the SQF Food Safety scheme.