Altra Foods – How a Leading Kosher Food Importer Fast-Tracked CFIA Approval with NORMEX
 

Company Overview

Founded in 2002, Altra Foods has established itself as a leading full-service food distributor in Canada. With multi-temperature storage facilities in Montreal and Toronto, Altra Foods specializes in kosher, natural, health, and sport nutrition markets. They manage an extensive inventory of over 6,000 items, including frozen, refrigerated, and dry grocery products, and serve as the exclusive distributor for several global food service and retail brands.

Challenge

As a major food importer in Canada, Altra Foods needed to comply with the stringent regulatory standards set by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). The CFIA oversees food safety, animal health, and plant protection in Canada, ensuring that food products meet high standards to protect public health and support market access.

To secure the required CFIA license and capitalize on business opportunities quickly, Altra Foods needed to develop a comprehensive food safety program. However, managing compliance for their wide product range and multi-temperature operations using manual processes posed significant challenges. They needed an efficient solution to organize and streamline their food safety operations.

Solution

Altra Foods turned to NORMEX, a food safety management software designed to automate and simplify compliance processes. NORMEX provided a tailored solution to meet their needs, focusing on:
    •    Automating Food Safety Tasks: NORMEX digitized Altra Foods’ preventive control plan (PCP), organizing all necessary documents, procedures, and records in a centralized system.
    •    Implementing Real-Time Traceability: The software introduced automated traceability for tracking products across the supply chain, ensuring transparency and accuracy.
    •    Streamlining Compliance: NORMEX simplified the preparation and submission of documentation required by the CFIA, reducing the complexity of the process.

Results

Within just three months, NORMEX successfully implemented a fully automated food safety program for Altra Foods. The CFIA was highly impressed by the improvements, noting the efficiency, organization, and compliance readiness of their program.

Outcomes included:

    •    Altra Foods obtained their CFIA license without delays, enabling them to expand their operations.
    •    Automation reduced the time and resources required for compliance, significantly improving operational efficiency.
    •    The company was able to focus on business growth, confident in their food safety processes.

Conclusion

By partnering with NORMEX, Altra Foods turned regulatory compliance into a streamlined and efficient process. Automation not only enabled them to meet CFIA requirements but also strengthened their ability to scale and seize new opportunities.

Altra Foods’ success illustrates how leveraging advanced food safety technology can transform compliance from a hurdle into a strategic advantage in the competitive food distribution industry.