Quality & Safety
Our Approach to Quality
- Farm-to-facility food safety management, built to international standards
-
Sasaki Green Tea Company holds FSSC 22000 certification — an internationally recognized food safety management standard that goes beyond domestic requirements and meets the expectations of major beverage and food manufacturers worldwide.
We don't treat certification as a box to check. Every standard is embedded into our daily operations across farming, manufacturing, and shipping. Certification is proof that the system works.
Quality Control Throughout the Manufacturing Process
Triple-check system from raw material intake to shipment
-
-
Raw Material Intake
Aracha (crude tea) — steamed and rolled from freshly harvested leaves — undergoes component analysis, pesticide residue testing, and sensory evaluation before final processing. Only materials that pass all criteria are accepted.
-
-
Manufacturing Process
All raw materials used, machinery and settings, and inspection results from foreign object detectors and metal detectors are logged as manufacturing records. This ensures rapid traceability in the event of any issue.
-
-
Final Shipment
Before shipment, every lot undergoes X-ray inspection to confirm the absence of foreign objects including metal, stone, glass, and plastic.
Traceability
- ull transparency — traceable down to the day pesticides were applied
-
Our traceability goes far beyond standard lot management. For every batch, we record and maintain: producer, production date, and production lot; the specific tea garden, cultivar, and harvest date; and for each tea garden, the name, application volume, and application date of every pesticide and fertilizer used.
Three-Tier Lot Management Structure
| Category | Recorded Data |
|---|---|
| Raw Material Lot | Producer · Production date · Lot number · Tea garden · Pesticide & fertilizer history |
| Processing Lot | Processing date · Lot number · Machinery used · Settings |
| Shipment Lot | Shipment date · Lot number · Inspection results |
Awards & External Recognition
From Japan's most prestigious agricultural awards to international taste evaluations — the quality of Sasaki Green Tea Company's fukamushi-cha has been recognized by independent third parties, not just our own assessment.
- Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award — Most wins in the prefecture: 34 times
- 2020 Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Festival — Emperor's Cup
- 2018, 2024 & 2025 — Grand Gold Medal, National Aracha Finishing Skills Competition
- International Taste Institute (ITI) — 3 Stars, 11 times total
- Monde Selection — Grand Gold Medal, 3 consecutive years