Safety and transparency: when it comes to food, these two factors are of particular interest to the public and food manufacturers. With the recently awarded certification, Evonik is now certified to the highest standards of hygiene. 

The Food Safety System Certification 22000 is a standard for ensuring food safety in the production of foodstuffs and is recognised by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). The audit was done by the German Association for Certification of Management Systems (DQS).

As part of the audit by DQS, the plant was certified for the food-grade production and packaging of potassium carbonate. Furthermore, it also confirms excellent conditions for storage and comprehensive documentation.

All the efforts involved in the audit paid off, confirms Alexander Weber, Head of Marketing at Evonik Functional Solutions: "We had already gained experience with the FSSC certification of BIKA (potassium hydrogen carbonate). This was useful to us in the audit for potassium carbonate."

Christiane Neels, Market Segment Manager at Evonik: "With this certification, we are strengthening trust in our manufacturing processes and supply chains. Evonik thus continues to consolidate its position as the preferred supplier of potassium carbonate to the global food industry." 

Potassium carbonate, also known as potash, is used in many foodstuffs; for example in cocoa powder. It maintains the dark color and helps to make it less acidic. As a baking agent it makes gingerbread rise and, as a desiccant, turns grapes into raisins.