Sonneveld Group B.V. are manufacturers of bakery ingredients, and therefore buy in a wide range of raw materials. In view of the quantity of raw materials involved, Sonneveld have chosen to carry out stringent checks on incoming deliveries. As well as categorising raw materials, Sonneveld also maintain a strict policy with regard to products which are permitted to enter the production areas. For example certain allergens and also GM products are excluded.

A great deal of information is required to ensure that the products delivered are safe and meet the requirements of Sonneveld Group B.V.. Sonneveld have drawn up a fact sheet for this purpose, including Food Standards and internal norms. The fact sheet must be completed in full and signed before any deliveries can be made to Sonneveld. Once the raw material has been approved by the I & D Manager, the Q & C Manager and the Procurement Manager, the purchase can go ahead. Sonneveld Group B.V. aim to lead the sector, and the questions on the fact sheet make a contribution to this.

Suppliers are naturally also subjected to an extensive approval programme before deliveries to Sonneveld can commence. The basis requirement is a food safety certificate. As a result of the acquisition by OFI, a central supplier assessment will be used. From 2011 Sonneveld is working with the Supplier Approval Portal. With the help of this program, suppliers are receiving questionnaires regarding their products. These will be judged, and if needed an audit will be accomplished. The advance of this system is that suppliers, which deliver to several different OFI companies, need to fill in only one questionnaire.

4.2 Quality control on incoming raw materials

Raw materials are sampled, approved and provided with a unique serial number on arrival. These details are included in the Tracking & Tracing system. The samples are retained for a minimum of 6 months.
The incoming checks to be carried out on each raw material are specified. The results of these checks are included in the TQM quality system.

4.3 Control of hazards from raw materials

The hazards of raw materials can be categorised as physical, chemical and microbiological.
The starting point for the management of the risks associated with raw materials is that we, as the processor of these materials for human and animal consumption, have responsibility not merely to accept the supplier's specifications, but also to verify these ourselves.

A part of bakkerijPlaza is RiskPlaza. RiskPlaza is a database which contains information of all possible hazards. Started for the bakery industry is the database lately also adopted by several other trade associations, for example the meet and snack- and the food & vegetable processing industry. Riskplaza is supported by the Dutch Food and safety Authority and Soneveld has achieved the audit + status for several years. This Audit+ entails that Sonneveld customers are no longer required to demonstrate their monitoring of raw materials for the products in question. Sonneveld is audited for Audit+ purposes on an annual basis. 

Characteristics of Sonneveld products:

• Sonneveld list more than 300 different raw materials which are purchased by more than 100 suppliers across the country and around the world. Sonneveld might be said to take a central position in the total supply chain. That is to say, there is always at least one business from the primary sector and one from the processing sector ahead of us in the chain.
• One typical characteristic of all our products is their low AW value, making the probability of growth of micro-organisms very low.
• Our finished products are mixed with other ingredients and subjected to a baking process by our customers

Control measures

The following requirements apply to all raw materials:

• Supplier's specifications.
• Signed specifications will be available for all raw materials, with a number of mandatory items set down by Sonneveld.
• Supplier specifications of the hazards of raw materials (fact sheets).
• All raw material specifications will include specific questions about the risks mentioned. Any applicable legislative standard will be specified against the relevant hazard. Questions are also asked about checking and monitoring.
• Checks on delivery: all raw materials will be subjected to sensory examination, and a sample will be taken for retention.
• Physical hazards (foreign objects): all raw materials will pass through a screen, metal detector or x-ray during processing.
• Rapid alert system; Sonneveld make use of information presented by alert systems.
• Supplier assessments: audits of suppliers will be carried out on the basis of a system of assessments. This may result in raw materials being placed in a higher risk category.
• Sonneveld Allergens Policy