The Quality Department of Vegacañada came into being with the company itself, focusing mainly on the general coordination of three systems, which are:

• The quality and maintenance of its certification
• The HACCP and general hygiene plans
• Occupational hazard prevention

The constant challenge of the department has been none other than the introduction of working systems which add additional effort to the daily work, surpassing previous formulas which were more traditional, but less effective and which gave a lesser degree of quality and satisfaction to the processes.

From the beginning the main objective was the collective conviction that the introduction of a “quality system” means the improvement of general performance and, particularly, in each and every phase of the production process, thanks to analysis, correction and error prevention mechanisms and centring efforts on the improvement of customer service procedures, the main objective of the work.

The “Hygiene System” (system HACCP) as the second function of this department, is an instrument demanded by law (RD2207/1995) and one that requires daily compliance, not only regarding documentation, but also with reference to cleaning and controls or analysis of verification. Its maintenance requires surveillance and constant action on the part of the quality coordinator over the person in charge of each process in the premises, in order to set it in motion and ensure its compliance.

Mental preparation of the worker is a fundamental element within this type of process and, in that sense, the coordinator is responsible for ensuring that employees bear in mind at all times, during each step of every process, that VEGACAÑADA is a food handling company, this demands the observance of a series of measures, some required by law and others taken on by the company voluntarily, in order to perform our work with the greatest possible care in terms of health and hygiene.

The certifications that the company currently holds in matters of Quality are:

• Quality management systems according to standard UNE-EN-ISO 9001:2000 certified by DNV

• A large part of production is certified, by AENOR, according to the standard UNE 155.001 (GLOBALGAP), by AENOR and currently required by the main European supermarket chains.

• The certification, by AENOR, according to the British GBS (BRC) food safety protocol, means an ‘extra’ in terms of quality and the innocuousness of food.

• The Andalusian Regional Government has granted Vegacañada its seal of CERTIFIED QUALITY as recognition of the pledge that the company has made to improve the quality and commitment acquired with a production consistent with the demands of our society.