Ingredient Manufacturer Secures New Customers Thanks to Technical Support
Aromada, which produces a range of mirror glazes, jams and jellies that are supplied to the baking industry, secured SALSA food safety certification following support from ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre at Cardiff Metropolitan University.
Founded by Samir Bougaci and Motaz Dadou in 2019, Aromada combines the pair's experience in ingredient manufacture and luxury patisserie. Motaz previously worked in development for a European ingredient manufacturer whilst Samir is a trained baker who also owns a Cardiff-based celebration cake company.
To grow their business, Samir and Motaz decided that they would need to secure SALSA certification. SALSA is one of the most widely recognised food safety certification schemes in the UK and it enables smaller manufacturers to demonstrate that they are operating to industry-recognised food safety standards.
As neither Samir nor Motaz had experience of SALSA certification, they approached the food safety experts at ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre for support through the HELIX Programme. The Welsh Government funded programme provides funded technical support to Welsh food and drink companies.
Working closely with a ZERO2FIVE technologist, Aromada were mentored to develop their food safety management procedures and paperwork in line with the requirements of SALSA. This included areas such as cleaning, pest control, traceability, incident management, labelling and product shelf-life.
ZERO2FIVE also delivered a range of bespoke training on subjects including the HACCP approach to food safety, allergen management and supplier approval.
Aromada successfully passed their SALSA audit in January 2025 and securing this certification has opened up much bigger wholesale markets for the company, both in Wales and across the UK. The company has already secured an order from BAKO Wales, a co-operative that supplies bakery ingredients across Wales.
Samir Bougaci, Director, Aromada, said:
'We're incredibly grateful to ZERO2FIVE for their invaluable support throughout our journey. Their guidance with our hygiene paperwork and their expert assistance were key in helping us achieve our SALSA certification. Their team was always approachable, knowledgeable, and truly committed to our success – we genuinely couldn't have done it without them.'
Professor David Lloyd, Director of ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre, said:
'Food safety certification schemes like SALSA are important to many manufacturers as they are often required to become a supplier of national and regional retailers, wholesalers and foodservice providers. If you're interested in securing certification for your company, then I encourage you to get in touch to find out more about the funded support which we can offer.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Rhyl Journal
29 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
Rhyl property used as homeless accommodation set for auction
48 River Street (The Cove Guest House) is to be auctioned 'on behalf of the administrators' by Liverpool-based estate agents Sutton Kersh on Thursday, July 24. It is owned by Big Help Homes CIC, who bought the property in February 2021 for £245,000 – for the July 24 auction, a guide price of £150,000 has been set. Big Help Homes CIC went into administration in March – its latest accounts show that, as of January 30, 2024, its liabilities exceeded its assets by £504,291. Last October, Big Help Homes CIC was the subject of a winding-up petition sent to the High Court. Its administrators, Grant Thornton, said in an administrator's proposal that Big Help Homes CIC was leased 18 properties by another company, Home Long Income Fund (HLIF), but had 'not paid rent to HLIF for some time'. It also claimed in this proposal that Big Help Homes CIC owes a total of £8.8million to its creditors. Two of its former directors, Peter Mitchell and his partner Colette Goulding, were declared bankrupt in May. Another 'Big Help' company, Big Help Project, is currently subject to a Charity Commission inquiry after a significant increase in its reported income was identified. Last July, 48 River Street was one of seven Rhyl properties listed for online auction with estate agents Allsop 'by order of a charity', but none of the relevant legal documents were attached to their auction pages. When contacted, Allsop could not disclose why they were subsequently withdrawn from auction. Then, in August, three of these properties – including 48 River Street – were put back up for auction via Sutton Kersh. No legal documents were attached to these properties' auction pages on this occasion, either. On August 29, all three properties' auctions, scheduled for September 10, were postponed. On September 2, a Sutton Kersh representative said they were pulled from auction because it didn't have 'formal instruction' for them. 48 River Street was also the registered address of another "Big Help" company, Big Help Holiday Homes Ltd, prior to this company being dissolved last year. Sutton Kersh describes 48 River Street as a 'vacant three-storey detached property which has previously been used as a 13-bedroomed guesthouse'. It added: 'Following refurbishment and modernisation, the property would be suitable for investment purposes or potential flat conversation, subject to gaining any necessary consents.'
Evening Standard
2 hours ago
- Evening Standard
Eh Oh they're back! Why Teletubbies are the latest Y2K icons making a major comeback
Where to live Golden Visas: the four European countries where you can still get citizenship by buying property Four European countries still offering golden visas to property buyers
Evening Standard
4 hours ago
- Evening Standard
Met chief calls for ‘mega' forces in push for police reform
Where to live Golden Visas: the four European countries where you can still get citizenship by buying property Four European countries still offering golden visas to property buyers
