This week, Bayn Europe AB revealed that it had passed ISO 9001:2015 certification and Blue Diamond Growers celebrated the recognition of their plant as “Plant of the Year.” Pecan Deluxe Candy and Dawsongroup Temperature Control Solutions completed a £3 million (US$3.9 million) investment of custom-built production facilities. Pecan Deluxe Candy announced its plans to meet the increased demand for flavors for praline nuts and seeds.

In brief: Recognition & awards
Bayn Europe AB has passed ISO 9001:2015 certification, after a successful two-part certification process. The certification means that Bayn’s management system, which includes procedures and operating methods, are now approved according to the ISO 9001:2015 standard. Bayn stressed that the company’s management system seeks continuous improvements and these are controlled through regular internal and external audits. “The certification is a safeguard for our customers and employees who can see that we systematically work with processes for continuous improvement and development,” says Srdjan Solaja, Quality Manager at Bayn.

Blue Diamond Growers, a non-profit grower-owned cooperative, is celebrating its recent achievement in food safety. The Safe Food Alliance recognized Blue Diamond’s Salida manufacturing plant as “Plant of the Year” at its annual Food Safety Conference in Monterey, California, US. “This recognition is a direct result of Blue Diamond’s commitment to food safety and our team members’ dedication to our vision of delivering the benefits of almonds to the world,” says Brian Barczak, SVP of Global Manufacturing Operations for Blue Diamond Growers. The Safe Food Alliance annually recognizes a food processing facility that demonstrates a commitment to continuous improvement, achieves success as a Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) Certified facility and ranks as a top scoring facility during unannounced food safety audits. 

In brief: Sustainability
Valio, owned by Finnish dairy farms, has set a goal to reduce its milk chain’s carbon footprint to zero by 2035. The company notes that this can be reached in two ways; binding more atmospheric carbon dioxide in grass fields and generating biogas from manure to replac fossil fuels, says the company. “It’s great that a larger group of Finns want to make environmentally sustainable choices. Our mission is to find new ways to reduce milk’s environmental effect,” explains Juha Nousiainen, Valio’s Director for the Carbon Neutral Milk Chain. “Valio is owned by 5,000 Finnish dairy farms with cooperatives in between, our calculations show that if we used the manure from all our farms to make biogas, the volume would be enough to fuel the farm machinery and Valio’s milk collection trucks. Recycling manure into biogas could, therefore, reduce milk’s carbon footprint by up to 50 percent. This would reduce the use of fossil fuels as well as methane emissions, generated during manure storage and use,” Nousiainen adds. Valio and Gasum, an energy company, intend to find solutions to the climate challenge together: cow manure can be used to generate biogas, which can replac fossil fuels used in transportation. 

In brief: Appointments & retirements
The Nestlé Board of Directors has appointed Leanne Geale as Executive Vice President and General Counsel and as a member of the Executive Board of Nestlé S.A., effective August 1, 2019. In her role, Geale will oversee the company’s Legal and Compliance functions. David Frick, Head of Governance, Compliance & Corporate Services, and Ricardo Cortes-Monroy, Chief Legal Officer, will report to Geale in her capacity as General Counsel. Frick will leave the Nestlé Executive Board as of July 31, 2019, and will continue to serve in his present role, including as Secretary to the Board. Mark Schneider, company CEO, says: “Geale has legal, compliance and corporate governance experience in industry-leading global companies. She is perfectly qualified to lead the newly combined Legal and Compliance group and to drive a coordinated strategy and greater synergies between these two important functions. Geale can build on the solid foundations that our existing legal and compliance teams have established over the past years.”

Bo Dohmen has joined the European Flavor Association (EFFA), who is joining the EFFA team in the role of the Public Affairs Officer starting from May 2, 2019. Dohmen holds an MSc in European Studies from the University of Gothenburg, Bo Dohmen has joined the European Flavor Association Sweden and she obtained a BA in European unio studies with a focus on Communication and Public Policy in Maastricht, Netherlands. Before joining EFFA, she worked for a Public Affairs consultancy in Brussels to immerse herself into the world of Public Affairs. Dohmen says the flavor industry is playing a “significant role in the food and drink sector” and stresses that she is looking forward to further contributing to highlight the benefits of flavors to the company’s stakeholders and customers alike.

In brief: Other highlights
A seven-year relationship between international toppings supplier Pecan Deluxe Candy and Dawsongroup Temperature Control Solutions(DGTCS) has culminated in the completion of a £3 million (US$3.9 million) investment in custom-built production facilities, streamlining processes and bringing everything in-house for the first time. To add value to Pecan Deluxe and its clients at each stage of production, DGTCS provided an initial seven cold stores to support the growth of new product lines and departments, as well as a complete construction build and washroom to ensure stringent hygiene standards. This first stage of development enabled product storage to be handled completely on-site, delivering significant savings by removing the need for offsite storage and distribution and therefore associated handling costs, as well as the time taken to audit third parties. This also contributed to its carbon reduction ambitions, which are essential not only to Pecan Deluxe as a progressive company but to the multinationals that it supplies to.

In the same week, Pecan Deluxe Candy revealed its plans to meet the demand for flavors for praline nuts and seeds. Bakery and snacks were the top categories identified as using nuts and seeds in new product launches, according to Innova Market Insights, while almonds – one of Pecan Deluxe’s best-selling pralines – featured as the leading growth ingredient. The innovative food tailor has been busy reinventing its extensive and popular praline range, working with new ingredients such as coconut and pumpkin seeds and adding natural flavors such as honey or maple.