The mouth-watering
product list includes veal parmigiana, eggplant lasagna with a béchamel
sauce ("a specialty," says Liberatore), mushroom ravioli, pasta stuffed
with smoked salmon, and sweet potato tortellini.
Over the years, Liberatore
has kept his finger on the pulse of the marketplace. He's added more vegetarian
options to please health-conscious consumers and begun accommodating custom orders,
creating fillings from recipes supplied by his clients.
He also noticed
a trend in the food industry towards HACCP certification.
Hazard Analysis
and Critical Control Point (HACCP) is an internationally recognized system for
ensuring food safety. The HACCP plan pinpoints steps in the manufacturing process
that can be a hazard to food safety. Control measures reduce or eliminate the
hazard, while extensive monitoring makes sure the measures are effective.
In
2004, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) launched
Advantage HACCP, a certifiable food safety program designed especially
for small and medium sized food processing plants like Pasta International. Certification
is conducted the Canadian General Standards Board, a federal government agency.
With
help from a food safety consultant, Liberatore and his assistant Naomi Levesque-Northcott
improved the hygienic conditions of the plant, created detailed food safety protocols,
and trained all his staff on Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs). Just a few months
after achieving certification, he's already seeing more business as a result.
Six months ago, for example, the ravioli machine was operating at 60 to
65 per cent capacity. Now it's at 80 per cent capacity, and Liberatore has asked
his supplier to set aside a second machine for him.
HACCP certification
gives current customers additional confidence in the safety of Pasta International
products. For prospective customers, it's a powerful lure.
"Advantage
HACCP certification has opened doors for us," says Liberatore. "We
have better exposure."
Currently he's in negotiations with a new client
who approached Pasta International because of its HACCP certification. If the
deal goes through, it will be the company's biggest contract to date.
Indeed,
Liberatore says, if orders keep flooding in at the current rate he'll have to
move to a bigger location. Already, he has to rent additional refrigerated space
to accommodate product overflow during busy times.
"I'm really happy
about this HACCP program," he says. "We went through a lot of training.
It gave all the employees a little bit of stress, but at the end it paid off.
It's worth it."
Contact Information:
Massimo Liberatore,
Owner, Pasta International or
Naomi Levesque-Northcott, HACCP Coordinator,
Pasta International
Tel: 905-890-5550
Email: naomi@pastainternational.com
Website: www.pastainternational.com
"Advantage HACCP certification has
opened doors for us," says Liberatore. "We have better exposure."
Figure 1: Massimo Liberatore,
Owner and Naomi Levesque-Northcott, HACCP Coordinator, Pasta International
