Because porcine tissues and other materials derived from pigs can be used in so many sustainable ways to reduce waste, it’s important that high quality standards are maintained throughout the entire harvest process. At SSR, many of our products go into the medical/life science space, so consistent quality products are essential to ensuring that those materials are safe for human applications.
Certifications and Regulatory Standards from Farm to Harvest
Quality products don’t start at our facilities. We ensure that the sources we use are also raised well from the very beginning. To guarantee quality in the pork industry, the Pork Quality Assurance Plus (PQA+) program was created to help farmers improve their practices and address issues of animal handling, environmental stewardship, public health and more. This PQA+ Certification ensures farms establish a herd health management plan, follow proper feed biosecurity protocols, provide proper care to improve swine well-being, provide proper care when handling and transporting animals, and other procedures to maintain the highest industry standards.
In addition to PQA+ certifications, we follow strict standards that ensure our sources are safe. Because our parent company is a food company, we comply with all USDA regulations associated with the Pathogen Reduction/HACCP Act of 1996 and Federal Meat Inspection Act to ensure product wholesomeness. This includes our Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan, sanitation standard operating procedures, and microbial monitoring. A HACCP plan is a systematic approach used to reduce risks from biological, chemical, and physical hazards. Since our facilities are USDA regulated, all materials that are produced come from animals that have passed inspection and deemed fit for human consumption.
Because of our impact in the biomedical and medical device industries, we also have a quality system in place designed to be compliant with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). We follow ISO 22442-2 standards and FDA Guidance for industry and staff on Medical Devices Containing Materials Derived from Animal Sources from the animal supplier perspective.
Collaboration with Clients
With multiple levels of controls and standards to ensure quality products, the next level of standards that must be met are from our clients. Our team members are trained to follow the strict specifications needed to meet customer satisfaction. We collaborate with our clients to develop a process that meets customer needs and guarantee that our members are trained to harvest items that meet client SOP. Good manufacturing practices are monitored to ensure the required result.