Main Business Activity - Manufacturer of fresh and dried Chinese noodles

Project Outline - Working towards formal accreditation overcame negative perceptions of hygiene standards and successfully lifted barriers to mass-market growth potential

The Knowledgebase Collaboration project has helped Winner Foods begin working towards accreditation on food safety standards, a pre-requisite to widening their customer base. As a result the project has put them well on the way to achieving their stated mission of ensuring their products are safe, tasty, enjoyable, convenient, fast and simple to produce.

Winner Foods Ltd is a manufacturer of fresh and dried Chinese noodles. They have been operating since 1993 from their North London base and have successfully established themselves as one of the top five largest noodle manufacturers in England. They already supply their products to wholesalers, supermarkets, restaurants and takeaways and have started to export to the Netherlands, France, Spain and Belgium. 

The main obstacle inhibiting Winner Foods further growth in the UK and US markets was their lack of a formal accreditation. John Chan, the Health and Safety Director of Winner Foods, commented on his current and potential clients that “they require a recognised standard”

In the past Chinese food has been held back from mass-market growth due to a perception of lower hygiene standards. However, this is changing with popular restaurants like Wagamama’s serving up delicious ‘fusion food’ and many people predicting that noodles will be the next big thing in supermarkets. John’s Company realised that gaining a recognised food safety standard was an essential step if they wanted to ride the crest of the wave of expansion in the market. 

With the help of the Knowledgebase Collaboration project Winner Foods decided to work towards an accreditation from SALSA (Safe and Local Supplier Approval). This in turn is a major step on the road to implementing HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) an internationally recognised system of food safety management. 

John hopes that they will complete implementation of the SALSA standard during 2008. The project has not only helped put them on the right path to achieving this goal but has also helped their staff acquire new skills and understanding in documenting the new working procedures as they go. 

John says that following up is the key to successful implementation of the new procedures. “It takes time”, he says. “You have to understand it. Then once you’ve done the documentation, you have to get it running. Making it work – that’s the hardest part”.