Etosha’s popular fish in a can is quality assured by a young women

Linekela Kapundja, the Quality Assurance Manager at Etosha Fishing, has just been awarded for her dedication to ensure that every can of Lucky Star or Glenryck pilchards is of the highest possible consistency and quality. She is also responsible for the quality of Etosha’s novelty canned horse mackerel products, marketed as Efuta Maasbanker.

Kapundja received the individual Award for Quality at the 5th annual National Quality Awards hosted by the Namibian Standards Institution (NSI). In addition, her employer, Etosha Fishing, received the Company of the Year, Exporter of the Year and Product of the Year awards in the Large Enterprise category.

Efuta Maasbanker is the first Namibian canned product to have received the NSI’s Standard Mark of Conformity endorsement. Same as all other Etosha canned products, it is both Kosher and Halaal certified. The company said that since the introduction of Efuta Maasbanker to Namibian shops and supermarkets at the start of 2014, sales volumes have increased five-fold.

“Etosha Fishing knows that it is not a static business in a static environment. In order for the organisation to achieve sustained success, it applies a quality management approach. Critical quality aspects of the manufacturing process are managed throughout the system, from the sea to the final point of dispatch to the customer, providing the assurance that the customer can consistently expect a product of excellent quality,” explained Kapundja.

“Our quality management system is based on the principle of ISO9001 and we use HACCP as a measure to control food safety risks. Etosha Fishing is certified to HACCP by the NSI through an inspection and audit program. All our products are also inspected by the NSI for compliance with canned food manufacturing regulations and also by the South African National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications. We have an extensive risk management programme in place that is based on the principles of OSHAS 18001 and ISO 14000,” Kapundja elaborated

In 2015 Etosha Fishing won all four award categories, later winning the Company of the Year and Exporter of the Year at the 2014/15 SADC Quality Awards. Its cannery is a world leader in fish processing with advanced automated equipment unrivalled in southern Africa.

Etosha attributes its success to employee engagement through continuous training so that every factory worker understands the importance of producing quality products in a safe working environment. “On the production floor, team work is necessary to ensure product quality. Quality incidents are recorded and immediate corrective actions can be taken at shift team leader and quality supervisor level,” Kapundja continued.

“We are absolutely delighted to once again receive recognition for our efforts to ensure quality in all we do,” said Etosha Fishing Managing Director, Pieter Greeff.

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Pictured are Etosha Fishing’s Quality Assurance Manager, Linekela Kapundja (right) and Quality Supervisor, Zola Udigeng, while conducting regular, daily laboratory tests to ensure and maintain the highest international standards for all the factory’s canned products.

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