Dikeos attributes part of their success
to the quality of their product. You won't find meat from old, spent laying hens
on the D&D Poultry processing line. "We don't believe in any of that,"
she stresses. "All our products are made from premium grade chicken."
Similarly,
keeping with the trend of their success, D&D considers food and safety a priority
in their plant. The provincially licensed plant has always followed strict food
handling practices. When they decided to go one step further, Advantage HACCP
certification was the natural choice.
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture,
Food and Rural Affairs program was developed to help small and medium-sized food
processing plants prevent, reduce or eliminate potential physical, biological
and chemical food hazards.
The Advantage HACCP program is based on
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP), a science-based system originally
launched by NASA to protect astronauts from the risk of food poisoning by identifying
and controlling critical points in the food-making process where food safety problems
could occur.
Today, HACCP is the world's most widely recognized food safety
program and, increasingly, a standard required throughout the food chain.
For
D&D Poultry, Advantage HACCP certification has given customers even
greater confidence in the safety of the company's products, according to Dikeos.
Certification did not require any changes to their operations as they were
already following all the required protocols. However, employees are now more
diligent about hand washing and more conscious about handling the products properly,
especially when they are switching between the different product lines - and there
are many!
In addition to fresh and frozen chicken, the company offers a
wide range of prepared foods that include marinated pork, chicken, lamb and beef
souvlaki, specialty wraps and stuffed chicken breasts, along with standards like
chicken nuggets, strips and burgers.
For health-conscious consumers, D&D
Poultry has developed a line of all-natural, drug-free chicken products rich in
the Omega 3 essential fatty acids that are missing in many modern diets.
Most
recently, they introduced a chicken peameal "baken" that offers a lower-fat
twist to traditional bacon - and an acceptable alternative for Muslim and Jewish
consumers.
Although documenting procedures and monitoring all the critical
control points for so many product lines was a demanding task, Dikeos calls HACCP
certification a smart investment in an era where the public is more aware than
ever about the importance of food safety.
"That's why we took the
next step, even though we didn't have to," she explains. "We wanted
to ensure that our clients were satisfied with our food safety - and they are.
They know that we are a HACCP-certified plant and there's nothing to worry about."
Dikeos' 12-year journey began with one single step that has brought them
this far, and now that first step has guided them to leap towards the future.
Contact Information:
Betty Dikeos, Vice President, D&D poultry
Tel: 416-609-9300
Email: betty@ddpoultry.com
Website: www.ddpoultry.com
"We
took the next step, even though we didn't have to. We wanted to ensure that our
clients were satisfied with our food safety."
- Betty
Dikeos, Vice President, D&D Poultry
Figure 1: Betty Dikeos, Vice
President, D&D Poultry 
