Food industry gases and food safety in Woikoski

Food production is an important part of Woikoski’s gas business and our customers include many food production plants and companies. In fact, we have been producing gases for food industry use at Woikoski for a long time. The first Food Act room permits and the first FSSC22000 certificates were issued to Woikoski in 2015.

The production of food industry gases is food production and our activities are comparable to those of bakeries, for example.

The purpose of food industry gases is to improve the shelf life of products by, for example, preventing bacterial growth, protecting against rancidity, preventing oxidation, and improving the taste, appearance or texture of the product. Woikoski produces food-grade nitrogen, carbon dioxide, oxygen and mixtures of these gases, which we deliver to our customers in tankers or bottled.

Our operations are also certified for food grade gases. We have food safety certifications for our production and products under FSSC22000 and Sedex. The certification is a promise to our customers that our operations are well designed and compliant with the standards.

We have invested in the food industry side, for example by increasing resources and strengthening analytical processes. Our food industry operations are internally controlled by both a quality department and a food task force, which, among other things, develops, maintains and monitors our food management system, ensures the organisation’s compliance with requirements and monitors food industry legislation.

Woikoski’s production processes are closed and pressurised, so the risk of product contamination is very low, and the same hygiene and surface cleaning requirements apply to all Woikoski production facilities where food gases are manufactured or packaged.

Food safety consists of the practices associated with the handling, preparation and storage of food that ensure the safety of food for consumers. For a company that produces food, the cornerstone of its operations is a self-monitoring plan.

The self-monitoring plan sets out all the key measures that producers themselves take to monitor their units, the activities of their staff and the quality of the goods they produce. The self-monitoring system is supervised by a public authority.

Food safety in Finland is monitored and developed by, for example.