Our Environmental Efforts
Environmentally friendly chicken manure recycling
Over the years, we have been improving our recycling efforts for chicken manure from farms. With the establishment of the Act on the Appropriate Treatment and Promotion of Utilization of Livestock Manure, we have been commercializing approximately 80,000 tons of chicken manure as fertilizers every year. We market the manure-based fertilizers across Japan for effective utilization.
Received Aomori Prefecture's first Tohoku Renewable Energy Utilization Award for Excellence
We installed 1-megawatt solar power panels on the premises of our Hosoya Plant, making it the first solar power station for internal consumption that uses renewable energy power in Aomori Prefecture. Thanks to our advanced efforts and model performance, we were awarded Aomori Prefecture's first Tohoku Renewable Energy Utilization Award for Excellence by the Tohoku Bureau of Economy.
Our Food Safety and Security Measures
Received the world's first SQF Tokyo Sustainability Addendum (SQF-TSA)
SQF is an internationally recognized food safety management system that warrants food safety and quality. We obtained the certification in 2010, and currently our 20 farms in Aomori, Hosoya Processing Plant, and Hosoya Package Plant are collectively covered by a SQF multi-site certification. In October 2019, we also obtained the Tokyo Sustainability Addendum, a food-sourcing standard for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Obtained an international food safety management system certification
For our food safety efforts, we have implemented a food safety management system and obtained FSSC22000, an international certification, in our processed food plants, thus advancing our food safety management to deliver safe and secure products. FSSC22000 is an international standard for food safety management systems created by enhancing ISO22000 with an addendum.
Obtained the first Japan Good Agriculture Practice (JGAP) certification as a broiler business operator in Japan
In March 2020, our 14 farms producing Aomori Gokokuajidori Chicken received a JGAP certification for livestock and agricultural produce. JGAP is a domestic standard stipulated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries for appropriate farm management to ensure not just food safety but also farm management, environment conservation, work safety, human rights and welfare, livestock hygiene, and animal welfare.