FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 4, 2007
Email: trugh@3-a.org
Along with the list of current 3-A Symbol licensees, 3-A SSI maintains a separate list of discontinued 3-A Symbol holders. This information lists the reason for discontinuation, such as the equipment is no longer in production, the equipment was consolidated in another 3-A Symbol authorization resulting from a change in company ownership, or the failure of the holder to maintain the authorization in accordance with the terms and conditions for use of the 3-A Symbol. The lists of current and discontinued 3-A Symbol holders are available on the 3-A SSI web site at www.3-a.org/symbol/holders_lists.html.
According to 3-A SSI Chair Greg Marconnet (Kraft Foods),
“The new information is very significant for everyone concerned
with 3-A Sanitary Standards because virtually all licensees have obtained
the Third Party Verification (TPV) inspection required by 3-A SSI to maintain
their authorization. Due to industry consolidation, product withdrawals,
and other reasons, a large number of products no longer maintain a 3-A
Symbol authorization and the new information helps interested parties
understand why some licenses have been discontinued.”
“There is stronger reliance on the 3-A Symbol because most licensees have obtained the TPV inspection,” says Tim Rugh, executive director of 3-A SSI, citing the high interest among regulatory sanitarians, processors and fabricators for current information. “The last TPV inspections will be completed for a small number of equipment groups in 2007 for standards that required some revisions,” he said.
Introduced in 1956, the 3-A Symbol is a registered mark used to identify equipment that meets 3-A Sanitary Standards for design and fabrication. Voluntary use of the 3-A Symbol on dairy and food equipment assures processors that equipment meets sanitary standards, provides accepted criteria to equipment manufacturers for sanitary design, and establishes guidelines for uniform evaluation and compliance by sanitarians. Use of the 3-A Symbol was based on a system of self-certification until late 2003, when 3-A SSI initiated the new TPV inspection requirement.
The new TPV requirement was phased in on an annual basis for various groups of equipment holding a 3-A Symbol authorization. At the end of 2006, approximately 450 TPV inspections had been completed for equipment fabricated in the U.S. and 18 countries around the world.
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3-A Sanitary Standards, Inc. is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3)
organization whose mission is to enhance product safety
for consumers
of food, beverages, and pharmaceutical products through the development
and use of 3-A Sanitary Standards and 3-A Accepted Practices. Visit the
3-A SSI web site at www.3-a.org.