* This is a sponsored post featuring our partner Sadia Singapore, for #TSSTasteBrazil. All opinions and thoughts expressed are as always, honest and our own.
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Taste Brazil | The Sadia Story
You wouldn’t have missed them in the frozen sections of any major supermarket in Singapore – that bright red ‘Sadia’ logo with its wide range of frozen chicken products. Beyond the well-stocked inventory in our local markets that is clear for all to see, Sadia’s story is really a quiet and continuous journey of commitment to environmental sustainability, animal welfare and consumer health.
Originating in Brazil with 80 years of history, Sadia came into Singapore as early as 1998 with its offering of frozen chicken wings and frozen whole chicken, selling only to local distributors and wholesalers. The brand gained traction quickly in Singapore with its reliability and affordability, drawing major retailers such as NTUC Fairprice into its direct sales. Today, Sadia’s frozen chicken exported from Brazil and distributed by their joint venture company SATS BRF, is the highest source of frozen chicken for Singapore.
Sources of Frozen Chicken in Singapore
Source: http://www.ava.gov.sg/files/avavision/issues3-4_2013/food-security-frozen-raw-chickens-thailand.html)
BRF is Sadia’s parent company, the world’s 8th largest food manufacturer. With over 40 factories worldwide and a global workforce of 120,000 personnel, BRF serves more than 120 countries as of 2015, with 5 million tons of food produced each year. With multicultural employees from approximately 90 nationalities and speaking over 20 languages, BRF isn’t just a Brazilian company with a global presence. It is a global company with its headquarters in Brazil.
Buzzwords like “sustainable” and “natural” are all the rage now, but keeping to this philosophy isn’t something many big companies will concern themselves with, especially at the cost of reduced profit margins. We are hence heartened by BRF’s unwavering commitment to this cause, a cause The Soup Spoon is a firm advocate of too. With its supplies stretching across continents from Europe and Eurasia, Latin America, Middle East, Africa, to Asia, BRF has 100% of their producers submitted to a sustainability assessment, and that can be no easy feat! It is also in partnership with World Animal Protection to include animal welfare in all stages production from birth to humane slaughter.
Besides the production of quality food, BRF’s focus is also on producing foods with smaller environmental impacts. Its green project includes efforts in energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable forests, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, water management, packaging, reduction in the use of raw material, and waste management.
On paper, BRF has demonstrated itself to be an exemplary model of the scalability of sustainable food, done right with commitment, responsibility and love for her people and our environment. In actual practice, we can’t be more impressed by what we have seen.
In our Souper Inspirations trip to Brazil in April this year, we were souper privileged to be able to get a rare peek of the state-of-the-art BRF factory facilities in Concordia, Brazil, as well as visit the chicken farms and getting to know the well-trained and professional farmers, veterinarians, researchers in BRF.
A chicken farmer with 10-day-old chicks.
Unlike most big corporations with hierarchical structures and divisions experienced at every level, there is an explicit warmth and hospitality that we keenly felt. Everyone knows everyone. Everyone is committed as partners in the animals’ lives. Everyone cares, for the animals, for their co-workers, for their company.
While it is the large scale of the company that entices many job-hunters and corporate partners, it is the love for its people and products that keeps them this big, and growing. How heartening it is to know that a company of such success can stay this humble and compassionate, taking great care of her people, the families and the animals. We are souper proud to be your partner, Sadia and BRF!
House of the founder, Attílio Fontana, has now become a memorial and museum.
Read more on SouperChef Anna’s travel to Brazil on our e-magazine. Download Here.