At Kalustyan, we take the safety and value of our products seriously, vetting them with multiple certifications that require regular quality assurance inspections and tests. By taking this approach, we are able to offer superior products that proudly display our certifications on all approved herbs and spices. When it comes to our products, what you see is what you get, that’s why we guarantee they are certified 100% P.U.R.E.
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Sourcing with Respect (UEBT) - We work to regenerate nature and secure a better future for people through ethical sourcing of ingredients from biodiversity.
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Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certificate is issued internationally and confirms that the manufacture of our products has been audited and are compliant with GMP regulations.
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The Global Food Safety Initiative Certification Programme – GFSI’s Benchmarking Requirements are used as a common and widely accepted goal for what constitutes an approved food safety system. We achieved certification through British Retail Consortium Global Standard (BRCGS), a recognized certification program that provides the framework for a strong safety culture, environmental monitoring and security defense while confirming global applicability and bench-marking.
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Sedex, the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange is a worldwide non-profit that uses their database as a platform in sharing information from ethically and sustainable supply chain productions. Sedex verifies the quality and information of our products through audits that ultimately reduce risk and improve business practices.
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Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and restriction of Chemicals (REACH), is a European Union regulation restricting the levels of chemical substances in all imported goods.
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USDA Organic certification shows customers that our products have been produced through approved methods and have been verified by an accredited USDA certifying agent.
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Our Halal certification ensures Muslim customers that our products maintain their Halal integrity throughout production, processing and distribution.
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The Kosher certification ensures that our products follow the set of biblical laws allowing consumption from persons of Jewish faith throughout each cycle of production.
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Certified R.A.W./C.L.E.A.N. are standards developed by the International Center for the Integrative Systems (ICIS) that verify the quality of our products while allowing transparency for consumers, retailers, manufacturers and the regulatory community. To be certified, the products must be 100% safe and have only non-GMO ingredients. The products must be considered alive based on a CytoSolve technology score. Each product must also contain a level of organic ingredients and a nutrient score of ingredients between a specific range.
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NON-GMO Project verification confirms that our products have completed third-party verification and are compliant with the Non-GMO Project Standard.
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V-Label Vegan is a reliable and transparent way to label our products as vegan through quality assurance and inspection as initiated through the European Vegetarian Union (EVU).
Rainforest Alliance (RFA)
Following the Rainforest Alliance (RFA) standards, Kalustyan goes to the grassroots level and works directly with farmers and vendors. This eliminates the middle man and prevents miscommunication. At Kalustyan, we are successful because we work as a team and have learned to understand the differences in perspectives and cultures. That’s why we use education to get our farmers to understand the importance of what we’re trying to accomplish.
We work to avoid issues like deforestation and assist our farmers through community involvement by providing for their families the best we can. Implementing RFA standards helps us build relationships and allows us to improve labor practices and infrastructure in areas where these issues may not be a priority.
Kalustyan’s subsidiary, Albkalustyan in Albania has been our largest importer for certain herbs and spices and we’ve learned that maintaining in-person relationships is the best way improve processes according to RFA standards. We continue to improve how we work sustainably by showing our farmers, vendors, and partners the benefits sustainability has on the overall well-being of their communities. Our work in Albania has earned us the first RFA certification in the country for sage.
Once establishing Egykal and a partnership with farmers in Egypt, we thought could implement what we learned in Albania. However, rules, government regulations, and politics between workers are very different in Egypt compared to other regions. Our efforts may have been slowed, but it was essential to take the time to understand the culture as we had in other regions. We continue to build trust, educate our farmers, work to promote equal wages, and reduce discrimination for our vendors through RFA standards as well as our own. By making our workers feel protected through Kalustyan, we know we can make a difference in these communities and the world.
Our business in Turkey, TurKal, while the smallest, has been the easiest to guide. The infrastructure where our farmers work in Turkey is not ideal, but because Kalustyan is considered trustworthy, we know we will see positive changes in the region.
RFA puts a great deal of importance on having a chain of custody and we have been able to maintain a level of traceability from farm to fork. Sustainability is important to us and following RFA standards drives us to meet that level of accountability as a business. Our work with the RFA is not to be used as selling point for Kalustyan consumers and we hope to use our products to educate all on the urgency of sustainable work and inspire our consumers to join the fight for the future.