QUALITY BEYOND CERTIFICATION
More than merely organic
We are proud of being among the first in Italy to have obtained organic certification as early as the late 1980s.
We are certified by ICEA , member number H127, but our dedication to organic principles goes far beyond compliance with the regulations.
Despite the frequent changes to the regulations over the years, with organic standards becoming more flexible, we are proud of keeping faith with our own values, with artisan workmanship and top quality rawmaterials selected from a network of small suppliers, local wherever possible, and maximum respect for the fruits of the earth. Our aim has always been to obtain the most authentic possible result, a good, healthy, high quality product to satisfy the palates of our customers.
The need for “clean” things
Right from the start, the choice to go organic was based on the idea that in order to truly respect human beings it is necessary to establish a “clean” relationship with all creation and its Creator. Similarly, it is only possible to show respect for nature by creating truly clean products, starting with an inner cleanliness because every form of pollution originates, first and foremost, from pollution of values, from pollution of the human being.
QUALITY PRODUCTS – our guiding principles
1) Working with organic raw materials that are in season, harvested when they are perfectly ripe and chosen after careful selection of the supplier.
2) Processes involving manual stages, making possible better quality control of the work carried out and the ingredients used.
3) Low-impact processing, respecting the nature of the product, to ensure that nothing of what we have been given is lost.
4) The use of steaming equipment to ensure short cooking times and preserving almost of the original flavour, aroma , colour and beneficial properties of these fruits of the earth.
5) A total lack of chemicals, even when the regulations permit their use, such as antioxidants, thickeners, etc.
6) A total lack of preservatives. Bottled products are preserved by pasteurisation at nearly 100° with a minimum shelf life of 3 years.
Safe, hygienic processing
In order to help us ensure our processing practices are healthy and hygienic, we turn to an independent consultant for HACCP analysis based at The Experimental Station for the Food Preserving Industry in Parma.
WHAT DOES HAVING ORGANIC CERTIFICATION ACTUALLY MEAN?
ICEA: our certification body (The Institute for Ethical and Environmental Certification) is a consortium that inspects and certifies enterprises whose working practices respect people and the environment, safeguarding the dignity of workers and the rights of consumers.
ICEA regulates some 14,500 businesses, giving it extremely strong ethical, environmental and social credentials, and its staff of 250 experts and 24 branches in Italy and overseas make it one of Italy and Europe’s leading certification bodies working for fair, socially sustainable development. Originally concerned with organic agriculture, its activities now extend to other eco-friendly sectors.
The certification body carries out regular inspections during which it checks the records of incoming raw materials, purchasing invoices and the compliance of suppliers, processing schedules and the use of raw materials, sales of finished products and inventories.
An in-house control system ensuring transparency, traceability and high professional standards and the fact that production is done in small to medium-sized batches make it extremely easy to follow the history of every single product.
