DCI Cheese Company receives prestigious food safety award

DCI Cheese Company (DCI) on July 16 announced that the organization's Green Bay, Wis., facility has been recognized for meeting or exceeding the standards of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) as defined by GFSI's official benchmarking procedure. GFSI is widely considered to be the "gold standard" for food safety. DCI's Santa Rosa, Calif., facility was GFSI certified in March of this year as well. With the Green Bay facility's certification, the company has successfully achieved its goal of company-wide GFSI certification at all production facilities placing DCI at the leading edge of advanced food safety practices.

GFSI is a non-profit benchmarking organization that seeks to continuously improve food production and manufacture systems to ensure the global supply chain is safe for consumers. The organization is comprised of the world's leading food safety experts and serves 400 members in 150 countries. GFSI's benchmarking procedure is executed in an impartial and transparent manner. Its benchmarking criteria meet internationally recognized food safety requirements and are accepted by many international and regional/national retailers and suppliers. In most cases, the level of food safety attained through GFSI far surpasses the requirements of federal, state and international standards.

"We take food safety and quality assurance very seriously and have invested heavily in our Green Bay facility to ensure we're providing our customers the safest product possible," says Tim Omer, president of DCI. "Very few manufacturers pass GFSI's initial audit. We're proud to say that we passed with flying colors, achieving an 'A' ranking - the best you can get."

In meeting GFSI's stringent requirements, DCI is recognized for embracing the standards of the British Retail Consortium and other highly respected national and international standards organizations that fall under the GFSI umbrella. In addition to meeting or exceeding GFSI's standards, DCI is also fully committed to the Food and Drug Administration's Food Safety Programs. The company has also implemented exhaustive quality-assurance measures including formal programs for Current Good Manufacturing Practices and elevated standards for Food Safety Systems audits.

About DCI Cheese Company
An innovative leader in the cheese industry since 1975, Richfield, Wis.-based DCI Cheese Company is the largest importer, manufacturer and marketer of specialty cheeses and other restaurant-quality prepared foods in the United States. The company offers an impressive portfolio of fully-owned or exclusively-held imported and domestic specialty cheese brands including Black Diamond, Goldy's, Joan of Arc, King's Choice, Meza, Nikos, Organic Creamery and Salemville, among others.