Food Safety

Safety is one of the most important aspects of any food processing facility. At Seneca, our commitment comes to life in a number of ways through our quality program.The format of this program empowers all our food handlers to honor their individual roles while working together with other plant teams to ensure safety. Our overall model has its advantages because it relies on specialists—from R&D to thermal processing—to concentrate on areas where they have years of experience while sharing knowledge with others.

Food Safety

BEHIND THE SCENES AT SENECA FOOD SAFETY Everyone has a right to safe and nutritious food. At Seneca, we employ multiple strategies to keep our products free from foodborne pathogens. Learn how our internal expertise and policies work together to create the highest quality and safest products for all of our sales channels. IT START WITH AN INTEGRATED TEAM… There are 7 QUALITY SYSTEMS that support Seneca’s quality and food safety programs Commitment from Senior Management Facility Standards Food Safety Quality Management Personnel Process Control Product Control Preventive Controls SENECA’S SENIOR MANAGEMENT Invests capital to continually improve our equipment, which keeps quality and food safety at the forefront. At a personnel level, we train employees on operational best practices, require physicals and much more to ensure standards are met. Each facility is required by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) to: Implement a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) food safety plan Update food safety plans on an annual basis Mitigate any potential issues by training employees in Critical Control Points (CCP) & Preventive Control (PCs) Stay current with our ever-changing production environment …WHO MEETS INDUSTRY STANDARDS FOR SAFETY Because safe, nutritious food is key, the 7 Quality Systems and internal expertise mentioned above drive Seneca’s standards. All Seneca manufacturing locations participate in the Global Food Security Initiative (GFSI) as well as other industry-leading standards. Our products and plant conditions align with the strict standards outlined by these organizations, meaning we provide the best quality possible. …AND OVERSEE STATE-OF-THE-ART THERMAL PROCESSING EFFORTS Seneca prioritizes food safety with our own thermal processing authority and full staff of thermal process specialists instead of outsourcing this function to third parties. Because of this approach, our testing and filing of processes are more rigorous and customized to our specific produc

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Experienced field staff and environmental coordinators are employed at each agricultural location to track and reduce all pesticide applications and ensure consistency throughout our operations. 

Integrated efforts between agriculture and operations personnel, plus growers, further leverage plant optimization, making lower pesticide usage possible. We continue to make major investments in agriculture information management systems to help us manage our agriculture practices. These systems, which utilize Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, have helped us be more efficient, and produce less waste when planning and apply fewer pesticides. 

We have instituted a full scale IPM that has been instrumental in the reduction of pesticide applications through better field management. Production fields are mapped, surveyed and discussed with growers to protect ecologically sensitive areas. 

Food Allergens

We isolate allergenic ingredients to minimize risk and ensure that products with allergenic ingredients are labeled properly.

Sanitation

We maintain a master sanitation schedule and implement standard operating procedures for handlers.

Test Procedures

Microbiological testing occurs at all frozen facilities and analysis is completed on all frozen products, sanitary surveys and environmental surveillance. Plant inspections consist of continuous quality control monitoring with staff at each facility. 

Grade Specifications

We utilize Statistical Process Control in attribute grading and fill control with line inspections to determine product defect levels. All products are on a mandatory five-day hold and positive release. 

Training

To ensure all equipment, systems and procedures are properly utilized, Seneca requires annual training on HACCP, GMPs, thermal processing, double seams, microbiology, sanitation and chemical handling. 

Metal Detectors

We meet all requirements for metal detectors including calibration, testing and how to respond to alarm notifications.

Guarantees

We maintain Certificates of Analysis for each lot of obtained raw materials.

Customer Complaints

We forward any food-related customer complaints to each corresponding facility where leaders are required to take follow-up actions.

Organics and GMOs

Seneca does not use GMO varieties for its fruits, vegetables or legumes

Integrated Operations

Discover how our integrated business operations help keep us a market leader

Packaging Innovation

Learn how we select packaging to minimize environmental impact and improve convenience