Sun Glo of Idaho Brings the Tasty with Food Safety
Company Profile
Established in 1974 by five potato growers in Southeast Idaho and now owned by the Crapo family, Sun-Glo of Idaho, Inc. is a family-run grower, packer, and shipper of premium quality, fresh Idaho® Russet, Norkotah, and Burbank potatoes.
Sun-Glo grows exquisite potatoes by combining generations of knowledge, modern technology, and old-fashioned hard work with a state-of-the-art packing facility and sales operations located in an area of rich, volcanic soil at the base of the Teton mountains in Sugar City. The company’s product line includes other related products like fries, grillables, and steamables packaged under the Sun Supreme and Ace brands among others. Recently, Sun-Glo built a new packing facility to improve food safety, sustainability, traceability, efficiency, and conserve resources to drive expansion.
Situation
Sun-Glo’s staff needed new training to meet their food safety assessment goals. Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) is a risk assessment program required under the Primus Global Food Safety (GFS) audit system that addresses food safety by analyzing and controlling biological, chemical, and physical hazards. Passing this audit was critical to Sun Glo’s sales and employment growth by maintaining and growing its customer base, but receiving the certification became even more challenging due to travel restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Solution
The Idaho Growers and Shippers Association (IGSA) president reached out to Janna Hamlett, a Processing Specialist at TechHelp, a member of the MEP National Network™, and Assistant Professor for the University of Idaho, to identify the best courses for their members.
Janna developed an online HACCP course specifically focused on the potato packhouse industry that is recognized by the International HACCP Alliance and considered an accredited training program.
Subsidized through National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) National Emergency Assistance Program (NEAP) funds, this course was uniquely designed and provided at no cost for companies that process potato products to equip them with the relevant training for their specific industry and food safety hazards.
TechHelp designed this interactive course to give industry members opportunities to exchange ideas, successes, and challenges through activities that help them create, update, and maintain their current food safety programs. Additionally, the individual sessions after the course provided a comfortable, private, and safe environment where participants’ specific circumstances, hazards, and concerns could be addressed.
The course was offered online, eliminating the need for travel and reducing the cost of attending in person, as many facilities still faced restrictions due to the pandemic. If TechHelp had not provided this course virtually, Sun-Glo of Idaho likely would not have been able to participate, to the severe detriment of their business. Such strategic partnerships allow TechHelp to serve our clients to the very best of our ability and have proven essential to lifting up companies in our state.
Results
Adhering to common food safety standards and a recognized audit scheme such as Primus is a BIG deal in the global food sector. Distributors, Sellers, and Consumers can rest assured that a company is doing its best to operate under conditions that will produce safe products. By training staff in HACCP and meeting the requirements of the Primus Audit Scheme, Sun Glo was able to:
- Retain sales of $3,000,000 with food distributors.
- Make a productive investment of $11,600,000 in plant, people, and processes.
- Retain 80 jobs related to food production.
“When my certification expired during the Covid-19 pandemic, my options were limited due to travel and group restrictions. When the Idaho Growers & Shippers Association offered this convenient course through TechHelp, I knew I needed to enroll as other courses I had taken through TechHelp were very educational. It was convenient to attend the online course and helpful to interact with others in the same industry. I was particularly grateful we could break the course into several afternoon sessions versus having to dedicate full workdays for training. I would highly recommend any future courses offered through TechHelp.”