Quality Conscious Ice Companies Establish New England Ice

March 31, 2011 - PRLog -- BOSTON, MA - O’Hara Ice, Laconia Ice and Cape Cod Ice Company today announced they have agreed to enter into a joint venture to develop a new brand of packaged ice. New England IceTM is the first ever packaged ice brand maintaining a combined focus on food safety, ice quality, and environmental sustainability.
Not long ago, industrial ice manufacturing plants produced almost all of the ice in the United States. As technology has advanced in the past 50 years, the statistics have completely changed. Today, commercial and residential ice makers account for more than 95 percent of all ice capacity in the United States, which is estimated to be over 1 billion pounds per day. Retailers have spent countless dollars installing commercial ice makers, leading to the consolidation of the industrial ice sector. Unfortunately, quality control standards for commercial and residential ice makers have not kept pace with this rapid growth.
New England Ice is focused on marketing ice products that are significantly safer than those made either commercially or in the home. New England Ice will exceed consumer and retailer expectations for food quality while providing both “all-purpose” and “spring water” ice products to the market. All New England Ice authorized manufacturers will attain the widely adopted and highly respected Safe Quality Food (SQF) certification. This certification meets the standards established by the Global Food Safety Initiative that are required by major food retailers worldwide. SQF is the new standard for food safety and New England Ice will be the first ice brand to be fully compliant.
While New England Ice’s quality control standards will be second to none, focus on environmental sustainability will also be a driving force behind the brand’s growth. “Our group’s diverse strengths in all aspects of ice manufacturing puts us firmly in the strongest position to develop and market a safe, sustainable brand of ice that people can trust,” said Joe Lillis of Cape Cod Ice. “It is only fitting that in New England, birthplace of the world ice industry in the 1800’s, this new quality driven brand is unveiled.”

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