One of the most critical links in the food safety chain is our family of livestock producers, as we depend on their commitment to provide food animals that are humanely raised, healthy and free of antibiotic residues or other hazardous substances that may impact the safety of our finished products.
This critical link is so important to the overall safety of our products that we require our livestock supplier partners participate in our Producer Food Safety Initiative, built on the National Pork Board’s PQA Plus® program. All pork producers delivering hogs to Indiana Packers are required to be PQA Plus certified.
The PQA Plus program focuses on two main components in pork production: food safety and animal well-being. The Program was developed to provide information to producers and educate them regarding on-farm Good Production Practices (GPPs) for the promotion of pork safety and pig well-being.
Food Safety Guidelines
In our ongoing effort to maximize quality control and food safety, Indiana Packers requires that all of our hog-livestock producers achieve level-3 certification in the National Pork Board’s Pork Quality Assurance® (PQA) Program.
The PQA Program is an educational framework designed by veterinarians to train hog farmers in best practices related to food safety and animal welfare. The program involves both individual worker certification and on-farm site assessment.
Indiana Packers requires its farm-partners to…
- Ensure that all unit managers, supervisors and production employees attain PQA level-III certification within six months of initiation of this program;
- Display their certification of completion in their barn or farm office.
Click here for more details on the Pork Quality Assurance Program.
Food Safety Letter of Certification
This document certifies that each producer has followed the Indiana Packers Food Safety Initiative Guidelines and assures the safe production of market hogs for supply to our plant.
The Letter of Certification must be signed by each producer.
Download the Letter of Certification
Preparing for a PQA Plus® Site Assessment
After completing these three key steps, contact a PQA Plus advisor, who can be found through pork.org, to schedule your site assessment:
- Achieve Certification.
Attain individual PQA Plus certification if you have not yet done so. To find a PQA Plus Advisor to start the certification process, call (800) 456-7675, or visit pork.org and search “Locate a PQA Plus Advisor.” Your advisor will most likely be a veterinarian, extension specialist or agriculture educator. - Obtain a Premises Identification Number (PIN).
You must have a PIN for your pork production operation in order to have your site assessed. For more information, call (800) 456-7675. - Order a Free Brochure and DVD.
The Pork Checkoff has developed a new brochure and 13-minute DVD entitled Preparing for a Pork Quality Assurance Plus® Site Assessment. The items are available at no charge from the Pork Checkoff’s Service Center at (800) 456-7675.
Maximum Residue Limits
If you’re one of Indiana Packers’ hog-livestock partners, we strongly encourage you to visit the Pork Checkoff’s website for information on MRLs.