Corporate and Social Responsibility - Technical Policies

Environmental Care

Quality & Consumer Safety

Environmental Care

Birds Eye Foodservice wishes to be part of a sustainable future, in which economic growth combines with sound environmental management. Birds Eye Foodservice is committed to meeting the needs of all those affected by our business activities including employees, communities, customers and consumers in an environmentally sound and sustainable manner, through continuous improvement in environmental performance in all our activities.

Our Policy is to ensure the safety of our products and operations for the environment and to exercise the same concern for the environment wherever we operate.

We will regularly publish relevant and meaningful information on environmental performance.

We will ensure that employees are aware of the Company's environmental policy and are motivated to apply it; are aware of their own responsibilities and are given the support and training necessary to fulfil them.

While we can achieve much within our own business, we believe that sustainable development is best pursued through partnership. We therefore work towards the improvement of knowledge, the dissemination of best practice and, where appropriate, common programmes of action.

Policy objectives

• Develop innovative products and processes which reduce levels of environmental impact

• Develop methods of packaging which combine effective protection and presentation with the conservation of raw materials and convenient, environmentally appropriate disposal.

• Reduce waste, conserve energy and explore opportunities for re-use and recycling

• Assess the environmental impacts of all our business activities from research, through manufacture, distribution, use and disposal.

• Use standards of environmental impact assessment which are robust, scientifically sound and generally acceptable within the present state of knowledge, at the same time attempting to develop superior methods and to improve on current practice.

• Develop and apply systems of environmental management, as part of day-to-day operational practice and on-going management reporting and control procedures.

• Encourage our suppliers to develop environmentally superior processes and ingredients and co-operate with other members of the supply chain to improve overall environmental performance.

• Work with industry bodies, government agencies, business partners and other concerned organisations, to promote environmental care, increase knowledge and disseminate best practice.

• Remain alert and responsive to developing issues, knowledge and public concerns.

Quality & Consumer Safety

Birds Eye Foodservice is committed to supplying quality products that will not harm customers and consumers or the environment.

Our Policy for the safety of customers and consumers extends to all activities from the supply of ingredients and packaging, formulations, each stage of the manufacturing process, Subsequent storage, distribution, products use and disposal. It applies to all operating sites and product categories throughout Birds Eye Foodservice including products manufactured by or in conjunction with third parties e.g. co-packers and co-producers.

It is Birds Eye Foodservice’s policy to ensure that its customers and consumers are provided with products that are of consistent quality and safe in use by designing safety into all products and processes and the manufacturing and distribution environments; and that key points of risk which present potential consumer safety hazards are routinely controlled and monitored.

• Achieve and maintain the quality standards chosen for products.

• Probe and strive consistently to improve quality.

• Ensure that all products sold by the Company conform to all relevant regulatory requirements and to Company requirements for nutrition and healthy eating.

• Operate a mandatory approval process for product and supply chain technology design covering the chemical, microbiological and physical aspects of products, ingredients, formulations, processes and packaging and food contact materials

• Obtain raw materials and packaging only from approved traceable sources working to appropriate consumer safety standards. • Provide the necessary product information to customers and consumers, including safe handling and cooking instructions.

• Provide specialist advice in the prevention of chemical, microbiological and physical contamination of Birds Eye Foodservice products and support in the event of an incident in the marketplace

• Design, operate and maintain processes and plants to meet product safety criteria.

• Establish and maintain standards and procedures for the control and monitoring of all operations that present potential product safety hazards.

• Ensure that adequate qualified human resources are available and that all employees at every level and function are aware of their responsibility for product safety and are appropriately trained, motivated and involved.

• Maintain procedures to enable recall of any suspect product from the marketplace.

• Ensure that those individuals, who know that they suffer from a food allergy, will be able to avoid inadvertent exposure to specified allergens in our products.

• Ensure that any by-product or waste to be used as a raw material in third party products is safe for such use or the subsequent processor has sufficient knowledge and competence to make it safe.

• Ensure that every employee is fully aware of our policy and of the important role they play in maintaining, continuously auditing, and whenever possible, improving quality in its widest sense.