Greencore USA’s Newburyport, MA Facility Achieves Prestigious BRC “Grade A” Accreditation

Newburyport, MA (I-Newswire) January 17, 2012 - Greencore USA announces that its chilled prepared foods facility in Newburyport, MA has been awarded the prestigious BRC ‘Grade A’ Global Technical Standard in recognition of the site achieving the high standards set by the leading global safety and quality certification program. Greencore now joins a very select group of a handful of sites in the U.S. to achieve this high standard.

The BRC standard is one of the most challenging and complete GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) standards, demanding a well-developed and extensive food safety and quality system. This achievement represents a significant milestone for the Newburyport site and Greencore USA in general.

The Newburyport site manufactures Retailer Label sandwiches, wraps, paninis, green salads and chilled meals for many leading retailers, as well as a large range of Weight Watchers fresh meals (such as Wild Alaskan Salmon, Beef Steak Tips, Southwest Turkey Chili, and Chicken Curry).

This accreditation demonstrates a continued commitment to develop and produce tasty, innovative and safe fresh foods that both retailers and consumers can trust.

Greencore USA CEO Liam McClennon affirmed, "We are delighted that three years of hard work and investment has been recognised. Greencore USA continues to raise the bar in fresh food production with its continued commitment to create and deliver wholesome, tasty and safe packaged foods. This is a wonderful achievement for the Newburyport site and a testimony to the hard work and effort by all of its employees. We firmly believe that GFSI standards should be achieved by all food manufacturers to show real commitment to food safety. As a demonstration of our commitment, we aim to have all three of our US facilities accredited by the end of 2012.”

About BRC
The BRC Global Standards are a leading global safety and quality certification programme, used throughout the world by over 17,000 certificated suppliers in 90 countries through a network of over 80 accredited and BRC recognised Certification Bodies. The BRC Global Standards are widely used by suppliers and global retailers. They facilitate standardization of quality, safety, operational criteria and manufacturers’ fulfillment of legal obligations. They also help provide protection to the consumer.

About Greencore USA
Greencore USA is the American arm of Greencore Group PLC, a leading international manufacturer of convenience foods. Established in 1991 in Ireland, Greencore Group PLC manufactures fresh prepared meals, soups, salads and quiches, as well as desserts and cakes. Greencore Group PLC is the world's leading supplier of fresh prepared sandwiches, producing over 6.5m a week. Greencore USA, based in Massachusetts, currently has three manufacturing facilities in Newburyport (MA), Brockton (MA) and Cincinnati (OH). Additional information is available at www.greencore.com.

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