Sappi North America's Somerset Mill Certified to ISO 22000:2018 Food Safety Management System Standard

Company's Maine mill receives industry certification for food safety, ensuring products meet industry standards

BOSTON, Jan. 7, 2020 -- Sappi North America, Inc., a leading producer and supplier of diversified graphic and release papers, packaging products and dissolving pulp, today announced that its Somerset Mill in Skowhegan, Maine is certified to the ISO 22000:2018 Food Safety Management System (FSMS) standard. Sappi is considered a Tier 3 supplier in the food supply chain and this new certification applies to all products produced at the mill.

"With this certification we are now able to provide our customers in the food packaging industry with assurance out of the gate that our products meet the strict industry standards for safety," said Heather Pelletier, Director of Packaging Brands, Sappi North America. "We continue to invest in and improve our mills to make sure our products meet our customers' needs. This is an important next step in our journey as we continue to set the new standard for paperboard packaging."

In 2018, Sappi completed a substantial rebuild of Paper Machine 1 at its Somerset Mill. Following the rebuild, the company is now producing a range of paperboard packaging grades, including products for food end uses. Proto C1S is a sturdy, single-ply SBS capable of meeting a breadth of applications with substantial feel at a lighter weight. Proto Litho brings all the benefits of Proto to meet corrugated litho lamination packaging needs. Spectro is a single-ply SBS with enhanced optics, making it ideal for premium applications that call for dynamic and vibrant images. On other machines at the Somerset Mill, Sappi produces its LusterPrint and LusterCote packaging grades; its Opus, Somerset and Flo graphics papers; as well as its Somerset Synergy ECF premium kraft pulp.

In order to meet the requirements of the ISO 22000:2018 FSMS, Sappi evaluated the production, storage and transportation processes for potential hazards and implemented monitoring and control systems to prevent product contamination.

As part of building the food safety management system, Sappi also followed the guidelines provided in the technical specification ISO/TS 22002-4:2013, Prerequisite Programmes on Food Safety - Part 4: Food packaging manufacturing. As an upstream provider of substrates to packaging converters, this technical specification provides the best operating floor systems guidance for a substrate supplier.

To learn more about Sappi, please visit: www.sappi.com.

About Sappi North America, Inc.

Maintaining its position as a leader in diversified wood fiber products, Sappi North America is focused on achieving the goals set in the Sappi Group's 2020Vision. Sappi North America employs over 2,000 individuals at its three mills, sheeting facility, Technology Center, and supporting offices across the U.S. Altogether, the sites produce 1.35 million metric tons of paper, and over 800,000 metric tons of kraft and dissolving pulp (DP) annually.

Sappi North America, Inc., headquartered in Boston, is a market leader in converting wood fiber into superior products that customers demand worldwide. The success of our four diversified businesses – high-quality Coated Graphic Papers, Dissolving Pulp, Packaging and Specialty Papers and Casting and Release Papers – is driven by strong customer relationships, best-in-class people and advantaged assets, products and services. Our high-quality Coated Graphic Papers, including McCoy, Opus, Somerset, and Flo, are the key platform for premium magazines, catalogs, books, direct mail and high-end print advertising. We are a leading manufacturer of Dissolving Pulp with Verve, which is used in a wide range of products, including textile fibers and household goods. We deliver sustainable Packaging and Specialty Papers for luxury packaging and folding carton applications with our single-ply packaging brands, Spectro and Proto, and for the food and label industries with our specialty papers, LusterPrint and LusterCote. We are also one of the world's leading suppliers of Casting and Release Papers with our Ultracast, PolyEX, and Classics lines for the automotive, fashion and engineered films industries. Customers rely on Sappi for high technical, operational and market expertise; products and services delivered with consistently high quality and reliability; and, state-of-the-art and cost-competitive assets and innovative spirit.

Sappi North America is a subsidiary of Sappi Limited (JSE), a global company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, with more than 12,000 employees and manufacturing operations on three continents in seven countries and customers in over 150 countries.