Product Responsibility Policies and Commitments

Grape King Bio is committed to the protection of public health and considers product responsibility as the most important aspect of our production operations. Therefore, we manage all aspects of our product production processes with the most stringent quality and sanitation standards. We have established the following four major food safety policies: “Continuous Innovation, Striving for Excellence in Quality, Implementing Social Responsibility, and Guaranteeing Peace of Mind.” We hope to contribute to society through the development of more products of the finest quality, together with annual quality targets set in our plants and the irregular implementation of public welfare activities, so that the public can understand our dedication, enhancing the customer confidence in Grape King Bio’s product. In addition, Grape King Bio places great importance on regulatory compliance, as our products are always in line with government policies as well as the international standard of animal conservation and humanitarian spirit. The company prioritizes health food-related certification applications with human consumption research experiments. We do not conduct, sponsor, or commission/outsource third-party animal experiments that are not required by regulations. If such experiments are unavoidable because regulations have not yet been amended, we require the implementors to comply with the 3Rs for animal research (replacement, reduction, and refinement).

  • Continuous Innovation
  • Striving for Excellence
  • Implementing Social Responsibility
  • Guaranteeing Peace of Mind

Goals

  • Short-Term

    • Continue to strengthen source management and complete traceability management for all products

    • Continuously promote food safety culture activities in accordance with international FSSC22000 specifications

    • Ensure that software at Pingzhen Factory adhere to the requirements of the Australian TGA GMP system

  • Medium-Term

    • Combine external inspection energy to optimize inspection procedures and improve inspection efficiency

    • Establish a food safety history inquiry system

    • Implement intelligent exception handling system and establish exception/customer complaint digital database to improve quality and processing efficiency

  • Long-term

    • Continue to improve and refine food safety, quality verification system, and inspection center in line with international standards and the latest verification standards

    • Continuously stabilize product quality, provide consumers with higher quality and healthier products, and improve the company's brand image

Systematic Guarantee of Food Safety

The top supervisor of Grape King Bio’s food safety management unit reports to the company, and the senior executive of the Manufacturing Department is the food safety team’s responsible person. The food safety management system we set up also requires the relevant divisions to review the achievement rates of goals promptly every year. In addition, they must conduct management review meetings once a year to discuss future directions and the achievement status of each production line’s quality target, product recall drills, management system changes, document updates, legal and regulatory dissemination, internal and external audit reviews, sanitation control results, and analysis of customer complaints, while also setting targets for relevant goals in the following year.

Product Quality and Safety Tests

Testing Center

 

The Grape King Bio Testing Center is a TAF-accredited laboratory that operates under ISO/IEC 17025 requirements. Our testing scope includes items related to physical, chemical, sanitary, and food safety factors. In addition to our TAF-accredited testing methods, our laboratory personnel regularly participate in proficiency tests conducted by third-party accredited laboratories to verify the high standards of our testing center.

 

In response to the World Health Organization (WHO)'s promotion of the laboratory risk management system, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control has listed the subject as a vital priority for national biological safety. Grape King Bio Testing Center has been recognized by the competent authorities for its implementation of the biological safety risk management system with an excellence award from the CDC.

Material Tests

  • Material Import Test Process

    All materials used by Grape King Bio are subject to acceptance tests. In addition to strict examination of test reports submitted by suppliers, we also add additional test items related to food safety factors. When material acceptance test results do not meet reception standards, we request the goods be swapped out as well as a subsequent test, while also urging the suppliers to propose corrective and preventive measures to avoid repeating the mistake.

  • Test Items and Frequencies

    Each batch of materials has to pass tests in the laboratory before they can be applied for production. Currently, the tests include 410 items on pesticide residues, 9 items on plasticizers, 5 items on microorganisms, and 4 items on heavy metals. Our test programs are more stringent than government requirements and are conducted on a batch-by-batch basis. This year, after analyzing the test data on heavy metals and plasticizers, we shifted 14 new product sampling programs to quarterly inspections to reduce equipment operating costs and to achieve a better balance between quality and test expenses.

  • Test Results

    Grape King Bio’s material acceptance regulations are more stringent than government regulations, which is why we can always ensure the top quality for the consumers. If materials are found to be non-compliant with the plants’ quality standards during acceptance tests, they will be specifically reviewed for regulatory compliance.

Product Safety Guarantee

To provide quality products with the highest standards and to avoid possible hazards to personal safety, health, the environment, and the products themselves, Grape King Bio has always been monitoring its products for possible quality changes during the period of sale. We ensure the quality and safety of our products via continuous and rigorous verifications and system controls of the production process on factors including purposes of consumption, method, manufacturing and processing processes, production processes, final product form, and amount of consumption. Achieving complete customer satisfaction is the direction we are focusing on and striving for. Grape King Bio provides products in capsule, bulk, granule, glass bottle, and Combibloc packaging. Through the whole process, from materials, semi-finished products, and finished products to outer packaging labeling, products are reviewed, again and again, ensuring the confirmation of all aspects before shipping, in the hope to achieve zero potential recall rate. For customers with higher packaging requirements, we also increase the sampling size, test items, and frequency of product inspections (e.g., bottle labeling, print box gluing seams, etc.). Currently, the company has introduced certification systems such as ISO22000, FSS22000, NSF GMP, and TQF. Our content regulations also specify requirements on product safety, such as control of physical hazards (sieving, metal inspections, X-ray inspections, etc.).

Traceability and Compliance Management

Grape King Bio established its strict management from the source, focusing on the material test, process management, and finished product quality to implement the company's commitment to food safety. We have established and optimized the following systems, regulations, and programs.

01
Traceability and Compliance Management

In response to the government policy of “Food Companies Required to Establish Food Traceability and Tracking Systems," Grape King Bio registers product information onto the governmental Essential Traceability system every month, which not only strengthens self-management but also allows us to quickly and adequately trace the flow of products in the event of food safety incidents.

02
Food Industry
Registration Platform

In addition to striving for improvements to the internal quality system, Grape King Bio has spared no effort in supporting the Food Industry Registration Platform set up by the government, actively cooperating with the system to register information as required by the regulations within the regulated time frame to ensure that both government and consumers have a clear understanding of the information from Grape King Bio.

03
Internal Traceability
Management Mechanisms
  • Material Tracing

    All materials used by Grape King Bio are managed with batch numbers and can be traced back to their sources immediately. The traceability system is validated through 2 drill exercises each year (once every 6 months).

  • Internal Systemized Traceability Management

    Grape King Bio has an internal ERP system and voluntary implemented the tracking and tracing management mechanism that allows 100% compliance with the plants’ internal “Product Identification and Tracing Management Procedures”. The current mechanism covers products produced in five food production lines in the Zhongli and Pingzhen plants, with 100% of the products able to be traced and tracked. Futhermore, the procedure requires us to conduct two product traceability drills each year to validate our management system.

04
Product Packaging
Labeling Management

Grape King Bio's product packaging labels are continuously reviewed and updated with regulatory requirements. They include the general ingredient and food additive labeling, packaged food nutrition labeling, food allergen labeling, GM food labeling, fungal food labeling, health product labeling and warnings, etc., to provide consumers with the complete and accurate information, as well as a reasonable understanding and indispensable information for their judgment when purchasing products.

05
Product Marketing
and Promotion Management

Grape King Bio is committed to the principle of "The health expert taking care of the family." It is not easy to earn the trust of so many consumers. Therefore, to make our sincerity shine through in advertising, we have established a set of internal management procedures to meet the needs of the consumers and reduce the possibility of violating the law. All of our promotion projects such as advertisements, websites, or printed materials, are reviewed by the Marketing Planning Section, Product Planning Section, Innovation and R&D Center as well as the QA department with suggestions proposed. Lastly, the Legal Department reviews all the promotional materials using governmentally approved words for health products, certifying that is it not in violation of any laws before they can be used.

06
Food Safety
Regulatory Compliance

The company strictly complies with the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation, the Health Food Control Act, and other relevant laws and regulations, with product review processes carried out in different ways depending on its stage:

  • Product labeling review stage: A joint review of relevant labeling compliance, proofreading of initial and final versions to reduce labeling review negligence and maintain a positive product image.

  • Advertisement text review stage:A joint review of relevant advertisements and promotional materials to confirm their compliance with the Regulations Governing of Criteria for the Label, Promotion and Advertisement of Foods and Food Products Identified as False, Exaggerated, Misleading or Having Medical Efficacy, to reduce case number of violations.

The REACH Substances of Very High Concern

Grape King strictly monitors ingredients listed in REACH’s substances of very high concern; for the list of 209 items updated in 2020, Grape King has not added any of the listed substances into its products. The only item of concern is the raw materials producing acrylamide at high temperatures; for this reason, Grape King Bio references the Reference Guidelines for Acrylamide Indices in Food published by the Food and Drug Administration for strict testing and control.