Sterlitamak Petrochemical Plant underwent a recertification audit of the corporate quality management system for compliance with the new version 6.0 of the European Code of Practice FAMI-QS as applied to the production of Agidol feed grade.

JSC “Sterlitamak Petrochemical Plant” is one of the leading producers of Agidol-1 feed grade. This product is used as a stabilizer in various feed, industrial and edible fats, oils, fish, bone and grass meal to inhibit oxidative processes in them, preserve carotene and vitamins. The production of the antioxidant is organized in accordance with the requirements of the European FAMI-QS standard, which aims to ensure the safety of products at all links of the chain - production, storage and distribution - by minimizing the risk of hazardous ingredients entering the food chain. Once every three years, the company confirms that the quality of the product meets the legal requirements.

At the end of July, the company underwent a recertification audit, during which a hazard analysis and an assessment of the risks affecting feed and food safety at the stages of product production were performed. The audit was carried out by SGS, a company specializing on inspection services, examination, testing and certification. Due to the preservation of quarantine restrictions associated with the COVID-19 coronavirus infection pandemic, the procedure was carried out remotely. This format of communication with partners and controlling services has already become familiar to the specialists of our company, so they easily connected to Skype interviews with the personnel of the departments; organized conference calls with heads of services and general managers of enterprises (introductory and closing meetings, group discussions). All the necessary documentation and photographs of the inspected objects were sent by e-mail or displayed on a computer screen in an online chat, and the notes that the parties made during the conversation were saved as evidence of the inspection.

During the recertification audit, SGS employees studied production management processes, interaction with suppliers of products and services, as well as consumers (commercial service of TAU PetroChem LLC, logistics department); management of planning repairs and maintenance of production facilities (departments of the chief mechanic, power supply and metrology); operational planning and organization of production of Agidol-0, Agidol-1 technical grade, Agidol feed grade (workshops N-13-14, N-4-5); storage of raw materials, consumables and finished products (workshop N-1-1a-12, warehouse); made an emphasis on monitoring the quality of products arriving at the plant (incoming control group of the Quality Control Department), meeting quality goals and corrective actions to improve processes.

The audit allowed the company to demonstrate that the products, business processes, systems and services comply with the European FAMI-QS standard. The result was a recommendation to extend the certification period.