For businesses operating in the manufacturing sector, particularly within food production, the construction of operational processes, especially in the factory, entails various principles. For the food manufacturing industry, the Food Safety Management System under ISO 22000:2018 necessitates strict adherence to principles throughout the production and preservation stages, ensuring the utmost quality and safety of the products. The primary goal of ISO 22000:2018 is to enable businesses to control hazards in the production process, ensuring the safety of products when they reach consumers.
To obtain ISO 22000:2018 certification, a business needs to: first, establish and implement a Food Safety Management System according to ISO 22000:2018 standards; second, undergo assessment and certification by a certifying body; and third, maintain the system’s operation and validity of the certification.
The standards for a factory to achieve ISO certification include:
1. Environmental Production Site: Location unaffected by pollution sources, ensuring a clean water supply adhering to set standards.
2. Design and Layout Requirements: Production and processing designed unidirectionally, with a clear distinction between production and non-production areas. Adequate separation to prevent the intrusion of pests, proper design considering technology and product type to prevent cross-contamination between production stages, operations, processing, and product handling.
3. Machinery and Equipment: Machinery must be safe, easy to clean, disinfect, and maintain, constructed from non-toxic or product-contaminating materials.
Conditions for personnel: Comprehensive knowledge of food safety and hygiene, regular training on food safety and hygiene by authorized agencies, and sufficient expertise on the roles and responsibilities of each individual. Directly involved personnel must hold health certificates, undergo annual health check-ups, maintain personal hygiene, wear protective clothing, and adopt a serious and professional attitude during production operations to ensure the highest standards throughout the manufacturing process.
The production process of traditional alcohol following ISO 22000:2018 standards at Somo Farm Cuu Long – Mang Thit, Vinh Long
The traditional handmade liquor, since ancient times, has been brewed using traditional methods that often employ yeast cakes as fermentation agents made from ingredients like plain rice and glutinous rice. Distillation is carried out using single-layered pots heated by natural sources like firewood, rice husks, and more. Evolving through different historical periods, the liquor production process has seen various new steps and changes, resulting in a final product offering a wider range of aroma and taste options. To ensure the production of high-quality and standardized liquor, the workforce is rigorously trained to understand the professional regulations and strictly adhere to the production process. Moreover, a crucial aspect for these craftsmen is to uphold and promote the intrinsic cultural values of Vietnam.
Operating under ISO 22000:2018 standards, the Cuu Long Distillery implements a consistent and strictly compliant production process, following these steps:
Step 1: The raw material receiving process [rice/glutinous rice, traditional yeast] must always ensure quality. The Quality Control Department inspects the materials and stores them for production purposes.
Step 2: Purifying the rice/glutinous rice involves multiple washes with clean water, monitoring and adjusting the water and rice quantity for consistency.
Step 3: The rice/glutinous rice is cooked into rice at standard temperature and time using specialized rice cookers.
Step 4: The cooked rice is carefully exposed to traditional yeast to ensure consistent contact between the yeast and the raw materials. Fermentation time is regulated to ensure the best fermentation result – the sugar conversion of high quality.
Step 5: Before distillation, the production department and Quality Control Department test the quality of the fermented sugar solution through indexes such as concentration, ambient temperature, and visual color. Only when all these indexes meet requirements does the distillation process commence. Distillation is a crucial step that directly influences the aroma and quality of the liquor. At Cuu Long Distillery, the most advanced distillation technology is employed to ensure the liquor has a distinctive aroma, refined taste, pure color, effectively removing impurities and toxins.
Step 6: The liquor obtained after distillation that meets standard criteria moves on to the aging process using high-frequency ultrasonic waves combined with multi-polar magnetic fields. This critical stage effectively eliminates toxins in the liquor and imparts a smooth, mellow flavor, akin to aged liquor.
Step 7: The aged liquor, free from toxins, undergoes infusion with valuable medicinal herbs known for their health benefits for consumers, for a period ranging from 6 months to 2 years, depending on the type of medicinal herbs, before bottling and packaging.
Step 8: The process of bottling and packaging the final product is the last important step. The Quality Control Department comprehensively inspects all quality indicators from alcohol content, aroma, taste, color of the final liquor to packaging labels and packaging standards, ensuring that 100% of the products reaching customers meet the required quality.
Step 9: The finished product warehousing is the final step in the production process before the product reaches consumers. Each product that enters the warehouse undergoes a strict production process parallel to rigorous quality checks, ensuring traceability when necessary and absolute safety for consumer health.
SomoFarm Cửu Long với sứ mệnh gìn giữ và phát huy giá trị truyền thống. Chính vì vậy, rượu truyền thống Cửu Long được sản xuất tại xưởng hoàn toàn tuân theo quy trình truyền thống kết hợp với trang thiết bị hiện đại nhằm cho ra lò những mẻ rượu chất lượng cao với hương thơm đặc trưng, vị êm mềm không gắt và quan trọng là loại bỏ triệt để các độc tố chính có trong rượu là andehit và methanol, làm giảm nguy cơ ngộ độc và chứng đau đầu sau khi uống. Và đặc biệt hơn, điều tạo nên sự khác biệt tại Xưởng rượu Cửu Long đó là dòng sản phẩm Cửu Long Mỹ Tửu với kết hợp giữa Rượu truyền thống Cửu Long và các nguyên liệu có lợi cho sức khỏe như Ba Kích Rừng, Tây Dương Sâm, Nhụy Hoa Nghệ Tây (Saffron), Hoa Cúc, Minh Mạng Thang, … sẽ mang đến sự đa dạng trong việc lựa chọn mùi, vị rượu phù hợp riêng theo sở thích của từng khách hàng.
Somo Farm Cuu Long has a mission of preserving and promoting traditional values. Therefore, the Traditional liquor of Cuu Long (Ruou Truyen thong Cuu Long) is produced entirely in accordance with traditional processes combined with modern equipment to create batches of high-quality liquor. This liquor bears distinctive aromas, a smooth and mild taste without harshness, and importantly, thoroughly eliminates the main toxins found in liquor: aldehydes and methanol. This reduction minimizes the risk of poisoning and post-consumption headaches. What sets Cuu Long Winery apart is the Cuu Long My Tuu product line. It combines the traditional Cuu Long liquor with health-beneficial ingredients such as Radix Morindae officinalis, Ginseng, Saffron, White Daisy, and Minh Mang medicine… This combination brings diversity to the choice of aroma and taste, catering to the preferences of each customer.
SomoFarm Cửu Long proudly introduces to consumers two product lines: Ruou Truyen thong Cuu Long and Cuu Long My Tuu, produced with standardized procedures, rich flavors, exquisite packaging, unique design, and absolute assurance of food safety and quality according to ISO 22000:2018 standards.
