Interview 23
Worlée NaturProdukte GmbH
Grusonstrasse 26
D-22113 Hamburg
P.: +49 40 733 33 0
F: +49 40 733 33-1170
naturprodukte@worlee.de
Managing Directors:
Michiel C. Blijdenstein
Sebastian Reifke
Peter Schmid
www.worlee.de
possibilities of our raw materials in our
customers' recipes have been decisive, as
has recently also been the development of
semi-finished products for and with our
customers," says M. Blijdenstein. Worlée is
of course a 100% vegan clean label supplier,
i.e. free from any animal or other raw
materials that are rejected by the end consumer.
The innovative company even offers
a veggie burger that it developed itself. In
addition, Worlée cooperates with a number
of start-ups and, with their R&D knowhow,
brings a natural taste to the product.
Product Risk Management
and Sustainability
The company has a monitoring program
that assesses the risks of the raw materials
from the field and takes appropriate measures
to control and minimize any risk. “Of
course we can deliver products according
to customer specifications, for example
parsley without stalks, but of course
everything has its price”, says Blijdenstein.
The chemicals division has already
published a sustainability report. There
will also be a report for Worlée NaturProdukte
in the near future. The company
philosophy, which formulates quality as
the first priority, watches over this. "Our
aim is to become even more sustainable
in terms of “organic ", “vegan" and
the entire supply chain management",
emphasizes Blijdenstein. “This of course
also applies to the absence of ethylene
oxide (ETO), which is used as a pesticide
and fumigant outside of Europe to prevent
contamination with pathogenic germs. In
Germany and the EU (or EC at that time),
it has been banned since 1984. Worlée
has had its own germ reduction process
since 1978, the so-called "EVW process",
which, through treatment with steam
under vacuum, leads to a germ reduction
of 5-10 log units. The process that
the raw materials go thru before they are
finally shaped and packaged based on
customer specifications extends from the
sensory incoming inspection to microbiological
examinations to the reduction of
germs using the EVW process. Worlée is
open to new technologies, but the company
does not compromise on quality!
Product safety and
monitoring
Michiel Blijdenstein says: “We have 550
suppliers in 173 countries. In the future
we will orientate ourselves even more
precisely to the needs of the market; this
means that we pay even more attention
to this in purchasing. We will cooperate
even more closely with customers. But
that also requires mutual trust. For example,
we also have manual checks, which
are also IFS certified. But we want to do
even more mechanical cleaning in order
to blow out camera, laser, magnet and
X-ray controlled rejects of foreign particles.
We remain open to new technologies.
However, we stick to the fact that
we only purchase from suppliers who
we know, who we have been on site
and whose own quality philosophy we
are convinced of. In the case of goods
from China, for example, we check every
incoming goods for pesticides, not just
organic goods. Goods from other countries
are subject to our monitoring measures,
which we outsource to external service
provider laboratories.”
Future trends
“Worlée doesn't chase trends. We are
among those who shape trends. Certainly,
the meatless products will attract. We rarely
develop completely new products; due
to the small proportions in finished products,
this is not our focus. But in the area of
manufacturing semi-finished products and
working with start-ups, many new product
ideas are emerging. For example, we
support customers in increasing efficiency
in production and filling, for example
by working with barcodes and scanning
them, which creates more transparency.
Another trend is technological development
due to the increased need for pumpable
pastes and pulps for the dairy industry.”
“Low-micro products”, for example,
are also a consequence of the increasing
demand for convenience products. Worlée
is also actively involved in this sector.
/www.worlee.de
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