Rieber’s Toro factory outside Bergen in Norway manufactures 700,000 packets of soup, sauce and other quality food a day. Robotised, automated, efficient and – not least – huge investments – are key words for this well established company, which puts quality, food safety and local taste at the top of its agenda.
The Toro facility has been expanded nine times since 1967 and now has a floor space of 43,000 square metres. The company has invested almost MNOK 500 in automation during just the past decade. Nonetheless, the 370 employees still have enough to do and enough to taste. Flavourists – taste judges – are on the payroll. Toro’s work is all about what the products taste like, and the human element cannot be avoided.
Taste as a tool
“Taste is one of our tools. Toro is a pioneering company here, and unique in this industry,” says Magne Sjøbakk, Quality System Manager in Rieber & Søn. He emphasises that Toro’s taste department and laboratory are essential to the company. A separate process department’s goal is to be the best at ‘Norwegian taste’ and, on a worldwide basis, Rieber’s goal is to be the ‘local taste champion’.
“This is where we boil the meat, fish and other ingredients that form part of our recipes,” explains Factory Manager Jan Arne Vevatne. “We develop the basic tastes for our own products here and we sell these tastes as ingredients to other industries. We export a lot of tastes and finished products such as soups and sauces in paste form to major consumers, such as hotels and restaurants. We produce more than 100 tonnes of these products to the French market,” says Mr Vevatne, who underlines that a product is not released onto the market unless it is better than those of Toro’s competitors.
“Our flavourists play key roles in both developing new products and maintaining old ones. We also test all our raw materials against a benchmark sample. And in the same way as for machines that have to be calibrated, we also calibrate our flavourists every year.”
Traceability and food safety
The Toro products are made according to 750 recipes and contain 450 different raw materials bought from all over the world. It is obvious that there may be many threats to food safety. 60 major raw materials account for 80% of the ingredients used. Therefore, samples are taken of all the raw materials and checked in the laboratories.
“It must be possible to trace all the raw materials back to their place of origin and growth,” says Mr Sjøbakk. “For example, when we use chicken meat, we know where the chickens came from, what kind of feed they have been given – and if relevant what kind of medicines they may have been given.”
X-ray detectors check the products that are being sent out and immediately remove stones, hard plastic and glass. A small stalk could get through, but everything possible is done to deliver completely clean products. Toro has a revolving 12-month production schedule and promises a 98% ability to deliver to its four main Norwegian customers.
Benchmark and supporter
Rieber was one of the first food companies in Norway to introduce certification when the Toro factory was certified in accordance with a Danish standard as early as in 1994. The factories in the Czech Republic and Poland are certified by DNV. Now all the other factories will gradually be certified by DNV.
“We want to try to get more out of the certification by sticking to one certification body,” says Mr Sjøbakk. “When we’re sure that the measurement systems are the same we can benchmark our various factories against each other. We also see that the certification body can be a useful help and support, suggesting areas for improvements to our systems. Annual top-level meetings will provide the quality assurance work with the necessary authority and give us a better overall picture of the ‘threats’ that we as a company are facing.”
ISO 22000 gaining ground
Consistency and effectiveness are important, and Rieber was interested in DNV’s Risk Based CertificationTM approach.
“The ability to listen and to adapt the certification to what is important and to our needs, is crucial for success,” says Mr Sjøbakk. He states that, to Rieber, speaking the local language and having local auditors were important criteria when DNV was chosen.
On the whole, Rieber has used the Quality Management System standard ISO 9001 and the Environmental Management System standard ISO 14001, but business sector standards such as the British Retail Consortium Standard (BRC), the Dutch Certification Scheme for HACCP based Food Safety Systems Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) standard and Germany’s International Food Standard (IFS) have also been used.
“We now see that the whole industry is maturing and approaching a common standard. The ISO 22000, which is a standard for food safety management systems, will probably form the core of all our certification in the future, although still with links to the BRC and other existing standards,” according to Mr Sjøbakk.
A research collaboration is established between Rieber and DNV Research and Innovation concerning new inspection methods. A company that wants to ensure good taste – in the future too – has a lot to look out for.
Fresh goods
While Toro products are dehydrated and do not contain preservatives. Rieber in Norway recently entered the fresh food industry with dinner dishes under the trade name “Velbekomme” (Enjoy your meal). This is an area where food safety is extremely important.
“When dealing with, and distributing a fresh product we are very vulnerable. Food safety is vital,” says Magne Sjøbakk, Quality System Manager in Rieber & Søn. “Velbekomme” is a complete dinner that is intended to provide just as much energy and enjoyment as a normal dinner. Up to now, this has been a huge success which has achieved new sales records month after month.