Ras Al Khaimah, February 12, 2012: Masafi, one of the leading FMCG brands in the Gulf and Middle East, has been honoured with Environmental Performance Certificate [EPC] 2011 by UAE Ministry of Environment and Water for its contribution to environmental protection and pollution control.

H.E. Dr Rashid Ahmad Bin Fahad, UAE Minister of Environment of Water, handed over the Environmental Performance Certificate to Niranjan Shridar, Technical Manager, at Masafi. The EPC was given away at a ceremony held last week in Ras Al Khaimah.

The 100-mark EPC calibrates the companies on their commitment to health, safety and
 environment policies and Masafi's nomination for the certificate recognizes its sustained efforts towards the cause.

In his comments on the new accolade, Nikhil Desai, Category Marketing Manager at Masafi, said: "We are honoured to receive the Environmental Performance Certificate and would like to thank the UAE Ministry of Environment and Water for acknowledging our efforts. The EPC reinforces our resolve to continue promoting the cause of environment."

He added: "Working within the scope of initiatives undertaken by the Ministry, we have repeatedly implemented processes and systems, both in packaging and products, to further the cause of sustainability and good corporate governance. As part of our Carbon Action Plan, we have increased the percentage of recycled material used in the packaging of our products, reduced the amount of carbon emissions from our manufacturing unit and thus became a complete environmental-friendly organization."

Since its inception, Masafi has always been at the forefront in environmentally-sound practices and is ready to go the extra mile towards a better tomorrow for the people and society. The company organizes Clean-Up Campaign at Masafi Village every year to reinforce the importance of safeguarding the environment. Masafi is also the first mineral water company in the region to be awarded the prestigious ISO 14001 certification for Environmental Management.

In November 2009, Masafi launched Oxo-Biodegradable films in its shrink-wrap packaging for water bottles. The company also launched the Corporate Recycling Initiative in October 2008, where it collects plastic bottles from UAE-based companies employing 200-plus people for recycling purposes.-

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For further information, please contact Ghada Kammoun/ Venkat Iyer,
BPG Public Relations, Dubai Tel: +9714-295 3456; Fax: +9714-295 1027
E-mail: gkammoun@batespangulf.com / venkat@batespangulf.com

About Masafi:
Masafi, the leading producer of pure natural mineral water in the entire Gulf, was established in 1976 with a paid-up capital of approximately $5.5 million. The company has retained its market leadership for over three decades by providing world-class products which are renowned for their pure natural freshness. This has seen Masafi become the premium reference for bottled mineral water in the entire region. In the process, it has built an extremely strong distribution network to consistently deliver to dynamic market requirements and has continuously upgraded its state-of-the-art equipment to keep pace with technological advances around the globe.

Being a leading brand that delivers to consumer needs, Masafi's wide product portfolio includes Pure, Natural Mineral Water, Tissues, Juices, Flavored Water and Gourmet (Chips). The mineral water product line comes in bottles of 1.5 litres, 1 litre, 500ml, 330ml (regular and sports) 4 gallon bottles, 330ml kids packaging (regular and sports); mineral water cups in sizes of 250ml, 200ml, and 125ml. All Masafi product bottles are 100 per cent recyclable and only for one-time-use. The tissue line includes boutique fragrant tissues in four scents, floral tissues in purple, pink and green colors, and car tissue boxes. Masafi leads the UAE market in the Brand Equity Index in the water and tissue categories. The hugely popular Masafi Juices come in an array of original flavors and rich fruit blends available in 2 litre, 1 litre and 200ml bottles and a 100% juice blend tetra pack product line. The flavored water is available in four flavors -- strawberry, lemon, peach and mint & lemon in 500ml sizes. The Gourmet potato chips come in five flavours - sea salt, sweet chilly, 'four cheese', salt & vinegar and Labneh & Zaatar.

The company was the first recipient of the ISO 9002 certification in the entire Middle East and was awarded the ISO 9001:2000 certification for developing and maintaining a high standard Quality Management System. Masafi has also been awarded the HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) certification. Masafi is also a member of International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) and Asia Bottled Water Association (ABWA). Masafi Water is tested and approved by NSF International, USA, which carries out annual unprompted audits on behalf of IBWA. Masafi is the first mineral water company in the region to be awarded the prestigious ISO 14001 certification for Environmental Management.

© Press Release 2012