Quality Assurance

SDG-related Initiatives

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CSV Goals (Creating Shared Value)

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Quality assurance policy

We seek to provide all consumers with safe products and high-quality services. This goal motivates us throughout our operations. During the entire process from the procurement of materials, through manufacturing, logistics, transportation, sales, and service, we work tirelessly to secure and improve customer-centric quality.

Quality policy

We will offer safe, trustworthy, fresh and refreshing products and services to all of our consumers, anytime and anywhere. To this end, we will work to ensure and improve quality in all operational processes by considering quality our top priority.
Our basic approach to maintaining quality involves not only complying with domestic standards, but operating under the same global management standards as all Coca-Cola system companies around the world, namely KORE (Coca-Cola Operating Requirements).
KORE covers a range of criteria in the areas of quality, food safety, the environment, and industrial safety & health, and it is implemented throughout the entire process beginning from procurement of raw materials to manufacturing, logistics, and sales to the consumer. In addition to meeting the requirements of international standards such as those from ISO and various laws and regulations, KORE imposes even more rigorous standards*

* Concerning quality, we comply with ISO 9001; concerning food safety, we comply with FSSC 22000; concerning the environment, we comply with ISO 14001; and concerning industrial safety and health, we comply with ISO 45001.

Plant's ISO Certification

ISO9001 (Quality Management System)

Zao, Ibaraki, Iwatsuki, Saitama, Tama, Ebina, Hakushu, Tokai, Kyoto, Akashi, Hiroshima, Komatsu, Daisen, Kiyama, Tosu, Kumamoto and Ebino Plants

FSSC22000 (Food Safety Management System)

Zao, Ibaraki, Iwatsuki, Saitama, Tama, Ebina, Hakushu, Tokai, Kyoto, Akashi, Hiroshima, Komatsu, Daisen, Kiyama, Tosu, Kumamoto and Ebino Plants

ISO14001 (Environmental Management System)

Zao, Ibaraki, Iwatsuki, Saitama, Tama, Ebina, Hakushu, Tokai, Kyoto, Akashi, Hiroshima, Komatsu, Daisen, Kiyama, Tosu, Kumamoto and Ebino Plants

ISO45001 (Occupational Health and Safety Management System)

Zao, Ibaraki, Iwatsuki, Saitama, Tama, Ebina, Hakushu, Tokai, Kyoto, Akashi, Hiroshima, Komatsu, Daisen, Kiyama, Tosu, Kumamoto and Ebino Plants

Our quality-protection system, "KORE"

The Coca-Cola system uses a unique global management system called "KORE (Coca-Cola Operating Requirements)", and the quality of our products is controlled under strict "KORE" standards. "KORE" covers a range of criteria in the areas of quality, food safety, the environment, and industrial safety & health, and it is implemented throughout the entire process beginning from procurement of raw materials to manufacturing, logistics, transportation, sales and delivery to the customer. In addition to meeting the requirements of international standards such as ISO and various laws and regulations, it operates under an even more rigorous standard. As part of our operations check, a registered assessment agency conducts an assessment at least once a year to measure the performance of the respective inspection items. With the additional objective evaluation by a third-party, we guarantee the Coca-Cola management system is operated fairly and justly. We will continue to build on our Initiatives for safety and security based on the KORE-centered management in order to deliver safe Coca-Cola products to our customers at all times.

"KORE" Framework

Quality and safety of our products

During the entire process from the procurement of raw materials, manufacturing and logistics to sales and service, all of our employees work tirelessly to secure and improve quality for our customers. In addition to meeting domestic standards, the Coca-Cola system operates under "KORE (Coca-Cola Operating Requirements)", a unique management system used by all Coca-Cola bottlers around the world.

Procurement

Water and raw materials are checked under rigorous quality standards.

Management of raw materials

Water and raw materials used in our products are also managed globally by KORE (Coca-Cola Operating Requirements), a unique management system of the Coca-Cola system. Based on the national standards and the quality standards of KORE, our employees carefully inspect to ensure that there are no safety issues.

Among the raw materials, coffee/green tea leaves used are 100% compliant with the "Principles for Sustainable Agriculture (PSA※1)," and all green tea leaves, including those for the "Ayataka" brand, are grown by the farms that meet the SAGP※2 standards. Some suppliers and brands have also obtained third-party certifications such as Fair Trade, 4C, and GAP※3. In addition, we only procure raw materials certified by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI※4), a global food safety initiative.

In addition, based on the KORE and SGP*5 standards of the Coca-Cola system, we have selected outsourcing manufacturers of beverage base (for agricultural raw materials, sugars, carbon dioxide, etc.) and suppliers (for containers, sales equipment, etc.). We identify our critical suppliers and have certain direct suppliers, including ingredient and packaging suppliers, who are critical to our production, or who provide a unique product, component or service we depend on.

When working with suppliers, we regularly assess their quality management systems and operational status through desktop or onsite quality audits conducted by the Coca-Cola (Japan) Company. Additionally, an external organization with expertise in SGP conducts regular audits to verify ESG-related practices and help suppliers establish appropriate business processes. We also conduct surveys to monitor progress on any improvements requested as a result of findings in either audit. For suppliers to which SGP is not applied, we use EcoVadis*6 to monitor, manage, and continuously improve their ESG performance.

※1 PSA (Principles for Sustainable Agriculture): New sustainable agricultural principles of the Coca-Cola system that reflect the most recent science and external stakeholder perspectives, which apply to agricultural products and packaging materials of agricultural origin.
Principles for Sustainable Agriculture (PSA)

※2 SAGP (Sustainable Agriculture Guiding Principle): A comprehensive set of criteria for sustainable farming standards of the Coca-Cola system. SAGP is stricter than JGAP (Japan Good Agricultural Practice).

※3 Fair Trade: A system certifying that agricultural products are traded fairly in order to guarantee the prices of agricultural products for socially disadvantaged producers.
4C (An acronym for Common Code for the Coffee Community): A certification system for the sustainable cultivation and processing of coffee.
GAP (Good Agricultural Practice): It is called JGAP in Japan and ASIAGAP in Asia, and both are operated by the Japan GAP Foundation. An agricultural production process management certification system that ensures sustainability of food safety, environmental conservation, labor safety, etc. GAP's standards meet the "Guidelines on the Common Standard of GAP" of MAFF.
Global GAP is operated by FoodPLUSGmbh in Germany. GAP was used as procurement standards for food provided at the Olympic/Paralympic Games Tokyo athletes' village.

※4 GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative): A private organization that approves food safety management standards in order to improve food safety and strengthen consumer confidence by gathering food manufactures that operate globally. The global retailers and their business partners are promoting adoption of GFSI. Fourteen types of certification standards including ASIAGAP are approved by GFSI (MAFF).

※5 SGP (Supplier's Guiding Principles): The Coca-Cola system's guiding principles for suppliers, that require suppliers to comply with the principles of conduct such as legal compliance and consideration for environment.

※6 EcoVadis: A highly reliable collaborative platform to evaluate companies based on the four non-financial themes: environment, labor and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement.

※3 Rainforest Alliance: A farm management certification system that protects the global environment and ensures sustainable livelihood of people, mainly for agriculture.
Fair Trade: A system certifying that agricultural products are traded fairly in order to guarantee the prices of agricultural products for socially disadvantaged producers.
4C (An acronym for Common Code for the Coffee Community): A certification system for the sustainable cultivation and processing of coffee.
GAP (Good Agricultural Practice): It is called JGAP in Japan and ASIAGAP in Asia, and both are operated by the Japan GAP Foundation. An agricultural production process management certification system that ensures sustainability of food safety, environmental conservation, labor safety, etc. GAP's standards meet the "Guidelines on the Common Standard of GAP" of MAFF.
Global GAP is operated by FoodPLUSGmbh in Germany. GAP was used as procurement standards for food provided at the Olympic/Paralympic Games Tokyo athletes' village.

※6 EcoVadis: A highly reliable collaborative platform to evaluate companies based on the four non-financial themes: environment, labor and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement.

Manufacturing

Product safety is guaranteed through complete hygiene control and quality management.

Product safety

Strict hygiene controls are observed in our manufacturing plants. In particular, PET products such as tea are manufactured in an aseptic line to eliminate the inclusion of any microbes in the filling and sealing process.

Actions for food safety

All of our plants have obtained FSSC22000 certification (international standard for food safety management system), and key control points are defined in the respective manufacturing processes of receiving raw materials, blending, and filling to ensure complete control.

Quality management

We conduct inspections in all of our processes to check the quality of our products. On the production lines, we use machines to check the filling volume, status of seams on caps, label positions, printing of best-before-dates, etc. Furthermore, operators run routine checks based on the inspection procedure. Thus, our processes are checked both by people and machine.
Our quality control is meticulous and refined, including sensory tests, physiochemical tests, and visual inspections, by certified testers in the company.

Continuous kaizen activities

Aside from the basic 5S (Sort, Set in order, Shine, Sanitation, and Sustain), the plant management and quality assurance departments inspect the plants on a routine basis and make necessary improvements in the case of any issues.
Through OE (Operational Excellence), we identify and eliminate waste and inefficiencies in production to create an excellent production site.

Click here to learn more about the activities of the manufacturing team

Storage/Transportation

We have a flexible structure in place to deliver quality products.

Supply and distribution system

The Commercial and SCM functions work together to build a supply and distribution system to flexibly accommodate our customers' needs. The system tracks when and where a product was produced and how much is in stock at which location, allowing us to control excessive production and inventory. As a result, we are able deliver fresh products to our customers at all times.

Sales

We have rigid product management in place to deliver safe, reassuring and fresh products.

Sales management

By working with our customers, we check product storage, sales space, and inventory for effective product management.
In our vending machines, each bottle is handled with care, and the expiry dates are meticulously controlled.

Quality control of post-mix

Dispensers and cup vending machines require absolute quality control since syrup and powder are mixed in the machine and sold directly to consumers. Our group has an exclusive certification system in which dedicated, certified personnel are responsible for quality management, including hygiene control.

Quality assurance certification for Post-mix products

Traceability

Our products can be traced back to their production date, manufacturing location and shipment date using history data that includes a record for tracking raw materials, process management record and distribution management record.

Customer support video

In collaboration with Coca-Cola Japan Co., Ltd., we introduce the efforts we are making for the safety and security of our products and simple questions about our products in an easy-to-understand video.