Our attention to food safety and quality gives us the licence to operate. Traceability and accurate product information are key priorities for Scandza. 

In the Scandinavian market Scandza is among the top three largest producers in most of the food categories we operate in. It is our responsibility to guarantee that our products are of the highest quality, safeguard the health of our customers and ensure that they are produced with integrity according to applicable laws and regulations.

In our DNA we promise to engage hearts and minds. To us this means providing trustworthy products and knowing that we have done our utmost to ensure their quality, integrity, and safety. Our CSR policy, Quality policy and Supplier Standard are the main governing documents that dictate how product integrity is managed  within Scandza. Our Supplier Questionnaire provides a helpful checklist to assess our suppliers.

Each production site has a quality manager that safeguards product integrity. They report to the Head of Quality in the group. Head of Quality reports to the CFO and the Vice President of Supply Chain in the group.

Most production lines are British Retail Consortium (BRC) certified or to an equal standard (see text box). Our quality management system provides an operational platform, with all governing documents, processes, and follow-up procedures in case of any deviations from standard operating procedures. Hazard analysis and critical control points (based on the International Food Standards (4)) are at the core of our quality system. All incidents related to food safety and mislabelling are reported and followed up in this system.

Food fraud is increasingly common in the food industry. It refers to “intentional actions by businesses or individuals for the purpose of deceiving purchasers and gaining undue advantage therefrom” (5). This constitutes a risk to the food system as a whole, to consumers, animals and to the environment, and it ultimately hinders the functioning of the market. All Scandza’s food production sites meet the benchmarking requirements set by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) (6). Audits are carried out annually, either by GFSI or by our customers. We have in place clear procedures on how to handle deviations from the GFSI standard or a consumer complaint. Additionally, we have established an interdisciplinary taskforce that handles emergency cases. 

The social and mobility restrictions imposed by governments in response to the Covid-19 pandemic made it difficult for us to carry out audits physically at our production sites. However, through digital means we managed to adapt and carry out audits using video technology. We view these audits to be satisfactory. 

In 2021 Scandza had no incidents of non-compliance with regulations or voluntary codes concerning the health and safety of our products.

Consumer awareness about quality and sustainability issues in the food industry is growing. This shift requires us to provide more detailed product information on many topics related to sustainability and health. 

The communication and marketing of consumer goods are heavily regulated in the Nordic markets. Scandza follows all applicable laws and applicable food information regulations and marketing regulations. These include information and claims regarding nutrition, health, sourcing and disposal, and environmental and social impacts. All products were assessed for compliance with such procedures in 2021. We had one mislabelling incident which led to the immediate withdrawal of the product. In today’s market, where there are many voices discussing health, safety and sustainability of specific products, Scandza seeks to be a transparent and knowledgeable actor that contributes to this conversation in a constructive manner. 

We will continue to monitor the situation and find ways to enhance our communication with consumers. We will also seek to improve the information available on our website to provide more detailed information about our products.