VILANOVA DE AROUSA, SPAIN — Spanish pet food producer Nugape Pet Food announced Dec. 7 it has received a notable quality and safety certification from International Featured Standards (IFS). The IFS Food certification, which is also applied to food products for human consumption, highlights the company’s dedication to safety, quality and traceability in manufacturing dog and cat food, according to Nugape.

The IFS Food certification necessitated a rigorous auditing process conducted by independent representatives of AENOR, a local certification firm, in the areas of governance, quality and safety, resource management, operations and product analysis.

The company’s factory in Northwestern Spain produces a variety of pet food products under the Cebican, Sandegal, Danna and Dousti brands, which are exported to more than 40 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Nugape employs quality analysis technologies such as NIR spectroscopy to ensure the safety and quality of its products. It is also committed to sourcing local raw materials.

According to Nugape, the certification comes as one of several initiatives the company is overseeing to expand capacity and improve its environmental sustainability. It recently launched a new packaging line that will take production capacity to 1,200 bags per hour. This expansion is expected to help Nugape reach an annual production capacity of 120,000 tons of pet food.

On the sustainability side, the company is currently working on the installation of two environmentally friendly operational upgrades: heat pumps that reduce gas use and CO2 emissions, and 5,000 square meters (roughly 53,820 square feet) of photovoltaic panels for the use of renewable solar energy.

Nugape also maintains the IFS Global Market certification.

Read more about pet food safety on our Operations page.