Advantage Profile: Embassy Flavours

Embassy Flavours products includes:

• Cake Mixes
• Batter Moist(tm)
  
• Cake Ingredients
  
• Charlotte/Mousse Mixes
  
• Prairie(tm)
  
• Sun Bread Products
  
• Flavour Concentrates
  
• Bakers Flavours
  
• Supreme Flavours
  
• Emulsions
  
• Flavour Compounds
  
• Liquor Flavours
  
• Pastry Ingredients
  
• Instant Tea & Coffee

When it became clear that Embassy Flavours had outgrown its Etobicoke plant, Brambilla knew he needed a way to add management systems to their food processing and give him a further leg up to sell to even larger businesses. He found the perfect fit for both in Advantage HACCP.

HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points and is the most recognized system worldwide for food safety. The Advantage HACCP program was developed by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs with delivery and administration of the certification provided by the Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB), an agency of the federal government.

There are inherent hazards related to the food processing environment and critical points in the food making process where food safety problems can occur. Analyzing every phase of the business and finding points where steps can be taken to reduce or eliminate food safety hazards results in improved food safety.

"Part of HACCP is creating a culture in a facility where certain tasks become a necessity," says Brambilla. "For a smaller company that is growing quickly it's a way to propagate a culture of food safety where checks and balances catch mistakes at the beginning of the process rather than at the end."

Their new facility in Brampton was built specifically with HACCP good management practices in mind. Brambilla says strict adherence to their Advantage HACCP food safety program has improved their business by creating new systems to manage and document food safety.

It's hard work to maintain the demanding Advantage HACCP standards and to pass the yearly CGSB audits. But it's even harder work to maintain strong growth. Fortunately, the company's Advantage HACCP certification also helps the Sales Department.

"Part of our reasoning behind getting Advantage HACCP was as a value added element for customers," says Brambilla. "We're focusing on large clients now and trying to penetrate the U.S. market. Having HACCP makes you a serious player."

Embassy Flavours is exporting to the Middle East and the Caribbean, as well as the United States. There are other organizations that will provide a HACCP program for a food processing business but Brambilla has seen how certification from a government body gives instant credibility in Canada and abroad.

Still, he says, sales and marketing is only an added benefit to their hard work with HACCP. "If you're doing it just for marketing than you're in it for the wrong reasons," he says. "You have to do it to benefit your business as a food supplier."

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Contact Information:

Taylor Harris, Marketing & Sales Coordinator, Embassy Flavours
Tel: 905-789-3217 or Toll Free: 1-800-334-3371 ext. 217
Email: taylor@embassyflavours.com
Website: www.embassyflavours.com

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"Part of HACCP is creating a culture in a facility where certain tasks become a necessity," says Brambilla. "For a smaller company that is growing quickly it's a way to propagate a culture of food safety where checks and balances catch mistakes at the beginning of the process rather than at the end."

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For more information:
Toll Free: 1-877-424-1300
E-mail: advantage@ontario.ca