Creating quality one step at a time

Quality and food safety are key at Minorito

 

A tour of the Minorito factory reveals just how important cleanliness and order are. In addition to protective clothing, the purity of the products is ensured by carefully following the best working practices and with correctly directed air flow.

Quality Manager Maarit Riihimäki explains that the company continues the practices adopted when the building housed a pharmaceutical plant. “We have kept all the working methods we consider important for quality assurance. Our products are manufactured in accordance with approved working instructions, and the progression of the production process is documented in real time. Our staff are highly motivated and skilled.”

The ingredients are acquired from partners who have proven their reliability. Production Manager Jenni Erkkilä is in charge of ordering the required constituents and packaging materials. “The majority come from European suppliers who are well-known to us,” Jenni explains. “Every delivery of ingredients that arrives is given an internal batch number at Minorito, which helps us to track the component parts from the supplier all the way to the end products sent to customers. The batches of ingredients are also identified using an FTIR device to ensure that they contain exactly what they should,” Maarit continues.

In connection with approval for use, the documents for acknowledgement of receipt, analytical data and the supplier’s analysis certificate are also checked.

 

FSSC 22000 Certification

 

As proof of Minorito’s highly effective quality system, they have been granted the FSSC 22000 Food Safety System Certification, which is a quality management system certificate based on international standards.

“Our production processes are regularly inspected by external inspectors. The certification also requires us to continuously develop our operations. We are happy to give our customers a tour of our facilities if they want to see for themselves how our products are made,” Maarit says.

Every production lot is carefully documented. Jenni shows us a batch record, which has been filled in by an employee on the tablet machine. The report reveals the process control measures taken and other necessary information. During the tablet-making process, for example, the procedure is monitored at least every thirty minutes by checking weight, crushing strength and appearance. During packaging, the control procedures include checking the number of products in a package, markings and the appearance of the package. Samples of all the packaging materials used for the batch are enclosed with the batch documentation to ensure traceability. Reference samples are also made of the completed packages. At Minorito, the documentation and samples of all completed batches are checked and approved before sending them on to the customer.

Built as a pharmaceutical plant for Orion in 1969, the factory building is a fascinating blend of history and modern technology. The end result is a highly successful combination of equipment suitable for processing and packaging powders and tablets.

The range of equipment also includes packaging lines for powder sachets for both small and very large scale of product. The Minorito facilities in Seinäjoki even include one of the fastest production lines for sachets in Europe, robots included.

“We’re in an excellent position as a contract manufacturer of tablets, especially, and we work in two shifts. We have recently ordered some new equipment to ensure that we will be able to increase our production capacity in the future,” Jenni concludes.