For Confirel, Quality Has to Be Spot-On
- By Alan Kirk
- December 3, 2023 2:55 PM
PHNOM PENH – Samley Sreyroth carefully tips a handful of palm sugar on to a flat dish and spreads it carefully with a flat scraper. She uses small pincers to pick out tiny flecks of naturally occurring impurities.
She spreads it again and repeats the process until every fleck is gone.
It’s a painstaking process and the final stage in getting Confirel’s palm sugar to quality standards that allow it to be sold in major developed countries where food hygiene standards are enforced rigorously.
Palm sugar is one of the products in which Confirel works with local producers in the community to raise quality and hygiene standards. The palm sugar from farmers is produced to a high standard, with Sreyroth and her colleagues checking and adding the finishing touches.
“Our customers know the quality of Confirel,” company deputy managing director Hym Piseth says.
“Confirel can produce good quality which satisfies the needs of customers. That is why we are the top one in Cambodia in organic products and natural products.
“Our production meets GMP (Good Manufacturing Process) standards so that we maintain the quality and make sure the products are safe for the consumer, It is our commitment to quality production.”
The company also has Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) certification. This is a system which provides the framework for monitoring the total food system, from harvesting to consumption, to reduce the risk of foodborne illness.
The system is designed to identify and control potential problems before they occur.
Confirel is currently working with CAPFish to implement food safety systems to harmonize with EU requirements. It also adheres to the Jas national standards which apply to food, agriculture, forestry and fisheries.
“This year, we have one more standard of organic products called the Kor for Korean standards. We can also sell in China,” Piseth says.
Confirel’s range includes Kampot pepper and Kirum brand tea which is made from the flowers of the pepper plant.
Jaya palm spirit is distilled from palm sugar and is based on ancestral know-how handed down from generation to generation and a range of candies is made from palm sugar with a range of fruit aromas.
