QUALITY, HALAL AND FOOD SAFETY POLICY

QUALITY, HALAL AND FOOD SAFETY POLICY

SelJel has unquestionably adopted the principle of continuous improvement and development of food safety and quality culture by meeting customer expectations and adhering to the relevant legal regulations, quality, halal and food safety standards.

  • We provide training and development opportunities to continuously increase the level of awareness and skills of our employees and to contribute to the system
  • We aim to keep customer satisfaction at the highest level by understanding customer expectations.
  • We regularly monitor our business processes and product quality and carry out innovative studies for continuous improvement.
  • We make production from 100% bovine hides and halal raw materials.
  • We create a culture of effective communication and co-operation with our customers, employees, suppliers and other stakeholders and related parties. It is our goal to identify their needs, expectations and conditions and to continuously improve halal and food safety.
  • We always make the necessary efforts to keep product quality and safety in the first place. It is one of our basic principles to carry out hazard analysis and risk management in accordance with good manufacturing practices and legal obligations in order to ensure that our products are healthy and safe
  • Our Quality, Halal and Food Safety Management System has been created in accordance with BRC, ISO 9001:2015, TS OIC/SMIIC 1:2019 and MS 1500:2019 Halal Food Standard.

 

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY POLICY

Seljel aims to carry out activities that will meet the expectations of all related parties,prevent negative impacts on the environment and manage energy consumption with high efficiency, at every stage of Food Gelatine production activities.

In this scope;

  • To ensure that no living creature is negatively affected by our activities and products,
  • To periodically review our defined goals and objectives and to provide the necessary resources to achieve these goals,
  • To organize or design our working environments in a way to prevent environmental accidents/pollution,
  • To minimize the potential negative environmental impacts of our services and activities,
  • To contribute to reducing the effects of global warming by increasing energy efficiency,
  • To reduce the amount of waste and increase the rate of waste recycle
  • To prefer to use environmentally friendly and energy efficient equipment, products, methods and technologies in all of our design activities,
  • To increase the rate of use of renewable energy sources and to reduce their consumption by using natural resources efficiently,
  • To make the environment and energy efficient perspective a company culture by increasing awareness raising activities,
  • To guide our stakeholders, from whom we supply goods and services, to carry out their activities with a safe, environment friendly and energy efficient perspective,
  • To fulfil all national and international legal requirements and the obligations of our other related parties that we are within the scope of
  • Working in accordance with ISO 50001 Energy and 14001 Environmental Management Systems standards
  • We are committed to continuously improve the performance of the environmental and energy management system by ensuring the participation of all our employees and taking their opinions on the effectiveness of our activities.

 

OHSAS / OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY POLICY

In order to meet the health and safety needs of our employees, visitors, subcontractors operating in our company, and our environment while conducting our manufacturing activities, our company commits to:

  • implement and improve the Occupational Health and Safety Management System,
  • create and develop awareness of safe working by providing continuous training to its employees on this subject,
  • inform our external stakeholders about our system during their visits,
  • strive to minimize the occurrence of accidents, occupational diseases and pecuniary damages, and
  • comply with the relevant laws, regulations and legislation,

and manages its relevant efforts as a whole with its quality system.

 

POLICY STATEMENT

SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş. is fully committed to providing a high standard of ethics and environmental business practices, including ensuring safe working conditions and protecting employee rights, throughout the entire supply chain. SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş. purchases goods and/or services on a global scale in accordance with the provisions of this policy on professional rules of ethics (“Code of Ethics') and requires its suppliers to comply with these rules and to implement under a similar commitment framework a continuous program which stipulates the implementation and, when necessary, improvement of code of ethics and environmental practices. This professional code of ethics policy is based on all the principles set out in the Ethical Trading Initiative Base Code of Conduct[1] and reflects the international standards set out in the International Labor Organization’s (ILO)[2] conventions.

 

SCOPE OF CODE OF ETHICS

Code of Ethics covers all fields of activity of SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş. and its direct suppliers.[3] SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş. expects all its direct suppliers to comply with the provisions of these rules, and also expects its suppliers to request from their own suppliers to demonstrate compliance within the same framework. All parties governed by these rules must comply with applicable national and international laws. Where the provisions of these rules provide greater protection than national legislation, these rules shall apply.

 

PURPOSE OF THE POLICY

The purpose of this code of ethics is as follows:

  • to express the policy of SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş. in a clear and understandable way;
  • to support the adoption and improvement of ethical practices on a global scale; and
  • to implement effective processes to improve business practices.

 

COMPLIANCE WITH THE CODE

SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş. understands that it is not possible for its suppliers to immediately implement the standards specified in these rules; however, it desires to work and establish close relationships with its suppliers who:

  • have implemented or is willing to implement processes that are suitable and have room for further improvement to increase their standards in order to comply with these rules within an agreed time frame; and
  • can demonstrate that they approach their working principles and general principles from a responsible and transparent perspective; and
  • have shown full and continuous commitment to improving labor and ethics standards.

 

CODE OF ETHICS

BASIC CONDITIONS OF SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş. (Cases of Critical Violation)

 

SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş. shall not work with suppliers who do not meet its nine basic requirements. SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş. shall have the right to terminate the contract with a supplier that is found to be not complying with any of the basic requirements. SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş. may terminate the contract without prior notice and shall not be responsible for providing any explanation (to the supplier or third parties that have a contract with the supplier). The basic conditions of SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş. are described as follows:

  1. Suppliers must avoid practices such as forced labor, compulsory labor, or debt bondage. Employees may not be obligated to submit their identity documents or pay deposit as an employment condition.
  1. Employees may not be subjected to any physical or verbal harassment, threat or intimidation/mobbing policies.
  1. Employees may not be asked to work for excessive hours or without sufficient breaks.
  1. Suppliers may not employ workers under the age of 18, or below the legally-established minimum working age in the respective country - if over 18. Suppliers must adopt principles for remediation of the situation pertaining to underage workers, and suppliers found to be employing such members in their workforce must take appropriate measures to remedy the situation pertaining to such workers and put in place effective systems to prevent future employment of minors.
  1. Factories and construction sites used by suppliers must be safe and hygienic; all buildings, including lodgings and other accommodation areas, must have a sufficient number of safe and easily-accessible fire exits and workers must have access to drinking water.
  1. Workers' life or limbs must not be endangered by the use of dangerous machinery, unsafe building structures or arrangements, and hazardous chemicals.
  1. Lodgings or accommodation facilities (if such a facility is provided) must be buildings located separate from other areas of the workplace and equipped with an adequate fire alarm system.
  1. Suppliers must maintain appropriate and accurate employment records, including the calculation of payments and hours worked; suppliers must be transparent and cooperative in terms of auditing of employment records.
  1. Suppliers must avoid bribery, corruption or similar unethical practices for gaining competitive advantage.

 

POLICY OF ETHICS

CODE OF ETHICS - GENERAL PROVISIONS

General provisions on code of ethics should be read and applied in conjunction with the basic conditions set out above.

  1. HIRING OF SUITABLE WORKERS

1.1 In manufacturing of goods, practices such as compulsory labor, forced labor or debt bondage must be strictly avoided. Workers must not be required to submit their ID cards or pay deposit as a precondition for their employment. Workers must be able to leave employment with reasonable notice period.

 

1.2 Child or underage workers may not be employed. All workers must be at least 18 years old, or the legal minimum working age as per national legislation, whichever is higher. Exemptions within the framework of the provisions of ILO Convention 138 are subject to prior approval of SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş. [4]

 

1.3 By signing a contract with SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş., suppliers, even if they do not employ child workers or minors, are deemed to accept the principles of the rehabilitation programs that will enable children and minors who are employees to access quality education.

 

1.4 If it is determined that a supplier employs minors, the supplier must establish and implement appropriate rehabilitation programs in collaboration with SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş., without prejudice to SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş. 's right to cancel its agreement with the supplier in accordance with the provisions of the code of ethics.

 

 

  1. WORK ENVIRONMENT

All workers have the right to work in a safe and hygienic work environment and suppliers must ensure that their work environment meets the following standards:

2.1 Suppliers must comply with all national health and safety laws and the standards regulated in ILO Convention 155.

4 Exemptions within the framework of ILO Convention No. 138 may become applicable only if SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş. is convinced that there is evidence showing that applicable legislation and regulations are observed and that the Supplier has an audit system in place which is acceptable to SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş.

2.2 Suppliers must establish an active health and safety committee. Workers must be represented in this committee which must be consulted during investigation of safety and health issues and have the right to participate in such inquiries.

2.3 Suppliers must formally appoint a senior manager responsible for safety and health issues, including compliance with the relevant requirements of this code of ethics and the formation and communication of written health and safety policies.

2.4 Workers must not be employed in potentially hazardous conditions without regular and appropriate safety training or supervision. Training must include evacuation procedures in emergencies and first aid practices for personnel that are properly set. Adequate records of all safety-related trainings must be kept and submitted to SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş. for review upon request. Adequate first aid services must be available to all workers.

2.5 Workplaces must be in the form of comfortable, well-lit, well-ventilated workstations. Workers must not be exposed to unsafe or unhealthy working conditions (including dangerous machinery, unsafe building structures or arrangements, hazardous chemicals and materials) and all required safety equipment must be provided by the supplier free of charge.

2.6 Factories and construction sites used by the supplier (including manufacturing and storage facilities, and office and living areas used by employees) must be safe and hygienic facilities with sufficient number of fire exits from all buildings that are safe, easy to access and clearly marked.

2.7 Living spaces, if provided, must be located in buildings separate from other buildings in the workplace and equipped with an adequate fire alarm system. In all cases, the supplier must provide clean showers, access to drinking water and appropriate food storage facilities and means.

 

  1. HOURS, REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

3.1 Suppliers must act in accordance with local legislation regulating employment, working hours, and remuneration including minimum payments, allowances and benefits (including but not limited to leaves, sick leave, childcare, maternity leave and benefits, social security) and must in no way try to avoid the legal obligations they have to workers.

3.2 Workers must be provided with clear and understandable written information about employment conditions (including wages and hours of work) before they start working, and Suppliers must always keep appropriate and accurate employment records.

3.3 Workers must not be forced to work for excessively long hours and must not work more than 60 hours per week under normal conditions and on a regular basis (including overtime). All workers must take at least one leave every 7 days and overtime work must be strictly voluntary and based on wage rates with premium.

3.4 Deductions from wages must be reasonable and relevant to the service provided for that deduction. Workers' explicit consent must be obtained for each deduction; the consent in question does not have to form an integral part of employment contracts. Use of fines as a disciplinary measure is not allowed.

3.5 Suppliers must comply with all legislation in force.

 

  1. RESPECTING INDIVIDUALS

4.1 Suppliers must conduct their business by acknowledging that all individuals have the right to equal treatment, respect and dignity and to work in a workplace environment that is free from any policies of harassment, physical or verbal abuse, threats or intimidation/mobbing.

4.2 Disciplinary practices must be fair and appropriate, and they must be articulated clearly and communicated to workers. Workers must have the right to challenge disciplinary proceedings and be represented in that process.

4.3 Suppliers must not discriminate against workers on the grounds of gender, religion, race, social class, age, disability, sexual orientation, union membership, political opinion, and national or ethnic origin.

 

  1. TRADE UNIONS

Suppliers must give all their workers the right to form or join trade unions and to negotiate collective bargaining agreements in a peaceful and lawful manner. Suppliers must not discriminate against workers participating in such activities. Where these rights are restricted by law, suppliers must allow alternative legal options to ensure representation of independent workers.

 

  1. STANDARDS OF ETHICS

Suppliers must perform their businesses in an ethical manner. Suppliers must not seek to gain competitive advantage through dishonest/fraudulent or unethical practices, including, but not limited to, bribery, corruption, kickbacks, gifts, aids or services.

 

  1. ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS

Suppliers must comply with the local environmental regulations in force and additional environmental standards that SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş. may provide to them in writing from time to time. In any event, suppliers must be sincerely committed to improving environmental awareness and environmental standards (including but not limited to those pertaining to reduction of waste, increase of recycling, reduction of pollution, and increase of the use of environmentally-friendly products derived from sustainable sources). Suppliers must prepare and implement a meaningful environmental plan by which progress can be measured.

 

  1. DOCUMENTATION AND AUDITS

8.1 Suppliers must implement effective systems (including assignment of an individual responsible for compliance with the rules) in order to enforce the provisions of this code of ethics by themselves and to ensure audit and documentation of compliance with them in a manner acceptable to SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş. Within this framework, suppliers shall also require their own suppliers to audit and record compliance.

8.2 Suppliers shall keep documentary records that may be necessary to demonstrate their compliance with the requirements of these rules (or that are directly or indirectly relevant to the application of the rules) and retain these records for three years. Such records shall include a single set of verifiable, accurate and complete records of hours worked and wages paid for each employee. All this documentation must consist of original records and submitted to SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş. for review upon request.

8.3 Suppliers shall allow SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş. (or its representatives or agents) to access supplier's premises or facilities (and any other workplace in use by or on behalf of the supplier, regardless of whether they are under the control of, or owned by, the supplier) to check whether or not the provisions of the rules of documentation are properly complied with.

 

  1. NONCOMPLIANCE

9.1 By signing a contract with SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş., suppliers agree to comply with the terms and conditions of these rules.

9.2 Without prejudice to the provisions of the rules or to the terms of any agreement that may have been signed between a supplier and SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş., SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş. shall have the right, at its absolute discretion, to terminate all contracts it has signed with the suppliers, with immediate effect, in the following cases:

9.2.1 Suppliers' failure to fully comply with the basic requirements at any time; or

9.2.2 According to the reasonable determination of SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş., suppliers’ failure to show in a manner acceptable to SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş. that they are sincerely willing to work and make efforts towards fulfillment of all provisions of the rules within a reasonable period of time, or

9.2.3 According to the reasonable opinion of SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş., failure by the suppliers to demonstrate to the satisfaction of SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş. that they have sufficient clarity and transparency to ensure that their work practices are appropriately verifiable.

9.3 If SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş. is of the opinion that a supplier does not comply with the basic conditions, or these broader rules, the supplier must take all appropriate corrective actions requested by SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş. in order to address the matters of concern identified by SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş.

 

 The Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) is an association of companies, non-governmental organizations and trade unions that works to promote, develop and improve the implementation of corporate rules of ethical business conduct, covering operational conditions in supply chains. The Base Code of Conduct contains provisions that reflect the most up-to-date and relevant international standards regarding operational practices.

2 SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş. The Code of Ethics reflect the standards contained in the ILO Conventions and Recommendations to be enumerated now: Conventions No. 29 and No. 105 and Recommendation No. 35 (Forced Labor and Debt Bondage), Conventions No. 87 and No. 98 (Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining Rights); Conventions No. 100 and No.111 and Recommendations No. 90 and No. 111 (Equal Remuneration and Non-Discriminatory Practices); Convention No. 138 and Recommendation No. 146 (Child Labor); Convention No. 135 and Recommendation No. 143 (Workers’ Representation); Convention No. 155 and Recommendation No. 164 (Occupational Safety and Health); Convention No. 159 and Recommendation No. 168 (Vocational Rehabilitation and Disability), Convention No. 177 and Recommendation No. 184 (Work from Home); Convention No. 182 (Elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labor); copies of ILO Conventions can be viewed on the ILO website at www.ilo.org.

3 The term 'supplier' shall be deemed to refer to suppliers, contractors and licensees.

4 Exemptions within the framework of ILO Convention No. 138 may become applicable only if SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş. is convinced that there is evidence showing that applicable legislation and regulations are observed and that the Supplier has an audit system in place which is acceptable to SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş. 

 

[1] The Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) is an association of companies, non-governmental organizations and trade unions that works to promote, develop and improve the implementation of corporate rules of ethical business conduct, covering operational conditions in supply chains. The Base Code of Conduct contains provisions that reflect the most up-to-date and relevant international standards regarding operational practices.

[2] SELJEL JELATİN SANAYİ VE TİCARET A.Ş. The Code of Ethics reflect the standards contained in the ILO Conventions and Recommendations to be enumerated now: Conventions No. 29 and No. 105 and Recommendation No. 35 (Forced Labor and Debt Bondage), Conventions No. 87 and No. 98 (Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining Rights); Conventions No. 100 and No.111 and Recommendations No. 90 and No. 111 (Equal Remuneration and Non-Discriminatory Practices); Convention No. 138 and Recommendation No. 146 (Child Labor); Convention No. 135 and Recommendation No. 143 (Workers’ Representation); Convention No. 155 and Recommendation No. 164 (Occupational Safety and Health); Convention No. 159 and Recommendation No. 168 (Vocational Rehabilitation and Disability), Convention No. 177 and Recommendation No. 184 (Work from Home); Convention No. 182 (Elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labor); copies of ILO Conventions can be viewed on the ILO website at www.ilo.org.

[3] The term 'supplier' shall be deemed to refer to suppliers, contractors and licensees.