Parmalat Unclaimed

Parmalat is one of the major players in the South African dairy industry and has been active in the South African dairy industry since 1998 Parmalat originated in a small town called Collechio, some 12km from Parma in Italy, renowned for its Parma ham and Parmesan cheese Cooperation agreements with distributors and Parmalat's sister companies across the world allow the company to expand its brand

Parmalat does not compromise on food quality and safetyParmalat SA does not release products for human consumption that pose any health risk. PSA’s procedures for product evaluation and risk assessment are robust and regularly audited by local customers and authorities, as well as international experts.A story initially reported in Rapport newspaper on Sunday 26 March 2017 was triggered by a 2016 CCMA ruling in a case between a disgruntled employee and Parmalat South Africa (PSA). The ruling upheld the dismissal of an employee who was removed as a quality manager at a Parmalat Plant in 2014 for poor performance, including not following procedures in the identification and correction of quality issues – a critical role in any food production facility.Milk is a natural product with quality variations. As a responsible dairy processor PSA has in place specifically designed systems to detect any quality issues as early as possible, and to assess the root causes and take necessary corrective action.The allegations described in the Rapport story refer to events that took place in 2014. When a processing issue was identified, the rigorous system of identifying the cause and putting corrective action in place was initiated. This would also have formed an important aspect of the quality manager’s role. The source of the problem was in fact identified by an international expert that was asked to assist.The PSA product safety system worked. It prevented any contaminated product from being released from PSA’s Bonnievale plant to any of our customers, and consumers were never at risk.PSA is regularly audited by key customers (including retailers and other food manufacturers) and all information about production and product quality is shared openly in such relationships. PSA has not falsified any laboratory reports or deliberately withheld information with the purpose of allowing poor quality products to be distributed and sold on.As a leading company Parmalat highly values employee engagement – a good, competent and motivated work force is vital to ensure that such a large organisation runs efficiently and everyone maintains the quality standards that make up the Parmalat brand. Job specific expertise and integrity are critical – especially in quality management positions. PSA has many checks and balances to ensure that any employee who is not satisfied with his or her treatment can escalate issues via a Tip-off Line that has been in place since 2010. In this case, the allegations of mismanagement were raised after the process of dismissal had been initiated.No individual has ever been dismissed from PSA for whistleblowing.Parmalat entered openly into the CCMA hearing process, knowing full well that it is in the public domain, but being of the opinion that there was nothing to hide. Parmalat does not wish to engage in any personal attack on the employee concerned – the employment issue has been dealt with through the relevant channels and the dismissal has been upheld.PSA manufactures a wide range of high quality dairy products. The company employs about 2500 people around the country in fields ranging from processing, packing, and distribution, to sales and marketing. The business has a worldwide reputation for good manufacturing practices and high quality products. Good practices and quality products are of the utmost importance to PSA and will not be compromised at any time. It is disappointing that unfounded allegations about Parmalat product safety have found public voice and could cause unnecessary concern.