FOOD SAFETY and QUALITY

In our sector, food safety is not only a point about which we cannot make any concessions but also the main criterion that determines the product quality. But how could food safety be ensured 20 years ago when "Quality Management Systems" and "Food Safety Management Systems", which are now some kind of insurance for food enterprises and consumers, had not been built yet? Moreover, how could a food enterprise that has come to these days from 1850s ensure it?

In order to keep its difference, reliability, brand name and the taste in the way they have always been,Kebapçı İSKENDER^â-Yavuz İskenderoğlu; has considered one single thing as an absolute duty right from the beginning: being "customer-focused". The basic requirement of that approach which is now called "being customer-focused" was nothing in those old days but treating customers with care, love and intimacy, that is to say, devoting a great deal of effort to serve them in the best way possible. At that time when such systems as HACCP and ISO 22000 were not present, there was only one principle to adhere to: "Do not give others what you would not eat!" It was not a system but we think that our ancestors taught us the first quality system of the sector, which had been applied by a minority attaching importance to it.

As a result of Yavuz İskenderoğlu's successful efforts, in 1999 all the trademark rights of the brand "Kebapçı İSKENDER^â-Yavuz İskenderoğlu" were registered in the European countries and U.S first and then all around the world.

Kebapçı İSKENDER^â-Yavuz İskenderoğlu, which has maintained its quality, difference and the taste for almost one and a half centuries, met the highest standards in terms of production and service, and took the ISO 9000 "Quality Management System" and HACCP (TS-13001) "Food Safety Management System" documents in 2005. That was the first in the area of "Döner Kebab Manufacturing and Service" in Turkey. Having fulfilled the requirements of being a global brand, the "Quality Assurance International" documents were taken as well. Accordingly, we now periodically examine the performance with the implementation of the "Food Safety and Quality Management Systems" and improve it incessantly. Based on our product safety policy, we, the Kebapçı İSKENDER^â-Yavuz İskenderoğlu staff, diligently follow the rules below to fulfill our responsibilities towards consumers;

• The HACCP rules, necessitated by the Turkish Food Codex on March 31 2005 for all the food enterprises, are followed in manufacturing and service.
• All the national and international laws, regulations and standards on product quality are met.
• The good manufacturing/hygiene practices (GMP/GHP) and Standard Sanitization Operation Procedures (SSOP) are followed.
• As all our products are tested according to HACCP principles, no uncontrolled product is sold or served.
• Food safety is secured all throughout the processes of obtaining raw materials, manufacturing, storing, distributing and serving.
• When raw materials are to be obtained, conformity is sought with the criteria determined by the food legislation and the "Raw Material Acceptance Criteria" that we established ourselves.
• PH and heat controls are always done when any meat is to be provided.
• Unhealthy manufacturing is prevented with strict controls done to secure the food safety and hygiene standards at every single step of production and various checkpoints.
• Besides the planned and unplanned supervisions done in Kebapçı İSKENDER-Yavuz İskenderoğlu branches by our food engineers and veterinarians, our system is examined by independent food auditing companies for the sake of a constant development and thus, nothing is left to chance.
• In order for the analyses to be done in case any problem comes up despite all the controls, samples are collected from all the döner kebab spits used and they are kept in cold for 72 hours.
• All is known about the source and history of the products and how they are prepared, and all the materials used such as meat, butter, pita, sauces and yoghurt are controlled right from the beginning of the manufacturing process to the time the product is served.
• The temperatures in which kebab is cooked are recorded in checklists and they are controlled.
• "İskender döner kebab" is produced in conformity with the worldwide standards using the quality meat obtained from animals bred and fed in their natural environments and with no aromas, additives, chemicals etc.
• Besides professional training, our staff is also given planned training on hygiene, quality, HACCP and "Kebapçı İskender-Yavuz İskenderoğlu culture".
• Suppliers are chosen among the firms embracing a similar philosophy to ours, not among those supplying cheaper materials and service.
• Our periodical examinations and evaluations of our suppliers give them the chance to improve themselves.
• The products of global brands are used for cleaning and disinfection, and the efficiency of our cleaning and disinfection activities is measured with periodical analyses.
• Professional firms in pest control support us, and all the studies about that are recorded.
• The health of the staff is controlled periodically.