Dominion operation pioneers down under

Dominion Salt chief executive Shane Dufaur (left) and group quality manager Royce Downes, at the Mount Maunganui site.

Bay of Plenty-based Dominion Salt has scored a first by becoming the sole accredited manufacturer of pure dried vacuum sodium chloride (salt) in the Southern Hemisphere.

"This certification puts Dominion Salt's food safety standards at the highest level, enabling worldwide credibility," said CEO Shane Dufaur.

The company has just received internationally recognised Food Safety System Certification 22000, he said. The certification relates to the International Organisation of Standardisation requirements for a food safety management system.

Dominion Salt is New Zealand's only salt manufacturer, with refinery operations in Mount Maunganui, Tauranga, and salt production at Lake Grassmere, near Blenheim. The company said it had already been operating to the internationally recognised Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point. The significance of FSSC 2200 is that it is recognised by other international standards, such as Global Food Safety Initiate.

"This officially endorses what our global customers have recognised in terms of the quality of our product," said Dufaur. "We are a leader in the field. Giving the world such assurance of our product quality is in line with our company's strategic direction."

Sales and marketing manager Brett Hobson said the company's food business had now reached the same international quality standards as the pharmaceutical and medical manufacturing side of the business. Because Dominion Salt manufactured pharmaceutical grade product, many of its systems already exceeded the required standards.

Dominion Salt group quality manager Royce Downes said nearly a year had been dedicated to achieving FSSC 22000, as an extension of what had already been achieved in terms of quality and food safety systems. Other companies starting from scratch might need to dedicate years, he said.

"It's a great certification to have. It verifies what we are doing, demonstrating how robust our food safety systems are. It's something you have to have if you are serious about trading with the world."

Dominion Salt is a major exporter, shipping to more than 25 countries. The company's core business is producing refined and unrefined salt as well as specialised products such as pharmaceutical salt, flaky salt, mineralised salt blocks and loose licks for animals. Salt is supplied, for example, to the dairy industry in Chile, Australia and New Zealand.

About 200,000 tonnes of salt are processed per annum, with export sales accounting for about 25 per cent of total sales. The largest export volume category is pharmaceutical sodium chloride, 99 per cent of which is exported.

The business has been the recipient of several awards since its Tauranga refinery expansion was commissioned in 2010, including winning the food and drink award at the international ICheme awards in 2012.

Dominion Salt

* Has the largest pure-dried vacuum refinery in the Southern Hemisphere

* Employs 115 staff

* Supplies the agriculture, hides and skins, food, water treatment, fishing, dairy, paper, and pharmaceutical industries, with table salt making up less than 2 per cent of sales.