The Calvé mayonnaise, made by Unilever, doesn’t have it.
Not even Hellmann’s mayonnaise, another Unilever trademark, neither Kraft sauces, nor is the mayonnaise from the multinational Heinz.
In Italy, mayonnaise and Formec sauces don’t have it, neither does Biffi.
And last but not least the mayonnaise Saclà is not equipped.
But what is it that all these great food players, mayonnaise makers and mayonnaise-based sauces do not have?
They do not have the CE mark on egg products.
What is the EC egg mark?
The CE mark is a health authorisation that allows the free movement of food of animal origin (meat, milk, fishery products, eggs and their derivatives) between the EU countries: this means that it is a Community Recognition awarded to a production/marketing establishment.
Establishments where products of animal origin are processed for which specific hygiene requirements are laid down, in addition to the general requirements in Reg. CE 852/04, are subject to approval and can therefore operate only if they obtain an approval number.
Reg. CE 853/04 lays down specific hygiene requirements for certain establishments listed in DGR 5-5600, Annex II – “Non-exhaustive list of establishments subject to approval under Regulation (CE) 853/2004”, including slaughterhouses, meat cutting labs, establishments processing eggs, etc.
Products of animal origin from these establishments are marked with a health mark in accordance with Reg. CE 854/04 or an identification mark in accordance with Reg. CE 853/04.
Practically, it is the highest health and hygiene guarantee that exists in the European Unionfor meat products and their derivatives to protect European consumers.
CE marks in the European Union concern 4 products:
• Meat
• Eggs
• Fish
• Milk
TUTTOVO, producer of Biobontà sauces, is the only company in Italy to have the CE mark for egg products, which we use to produce mayonnaise.
The company has the CE mark:
It means that it was among the top 3 certified companies in Italy, a good result for a small entreprise!
But is this EC mark compulsory for companies producing mayonnaise based on eggs?
No, if they buy the egg products from companies that have the CE mark and then treat the eggs according to the law.
So what does Tuttovo get for having the CE mark?
Differences from the voluntary standards
The merit is to accept to be subject to strict legal rules to make its productions.
The EC mark requires a veterinarian responsible for ASL to take charge of the company and to carry out regular and frequent visits, to create programmes for colecting products for bacteriological analysis, inspections of raw materials, environments, machinery, clothing of the staff, etc.
The veterinarian is a ministerial official (equivalent to a police officer) of the Italian State, and can visit Tuttovo plant at any time without prior notice and no one can prevent him from entering for any reason.
Ok, but all the major food companies, including the ones we mentioned at the beginning, have certifications like BRC, IFS, ISO, etc.
Of course, absolutely true.
But these are voluntary rules.
Voluntary quality certifications are therefore paths that complement the mandatory requirements and that companies decide to undertake, to provide extra guarantees to their customers on the reliability and quality of their products.
You pay a third party to obtain a certification, then giving diligent application to the procedures of which the certification itself is composed.
If the required procedures are not applied correctly or completely, the possibility of using the certification is lost.
The result can be a significant commercial damage, as customers interested in a certification, can suspend purchases of products without certification.
It is certainly not a small problem.
In the case of possession of the CE mark, as is the case of Tuttovo, if the ASL veterinarian finds a serious non-compliance he implements a completely different procedure.
It does not remove the CE mark from the company, because this possibility is not within its competence, but sends the company manager, usually the administrator, to a judge.
And this is about penal judge!
Here is the great and decisive difference between voluntary norms and norms of law.
On the one hand the loss of a certification, on the other (the CE mark) the intervention of the judiciary, with the possibility of criminal convictions even very severe. Try to think about an administrator who, after a similar food offence, can be imprisoned for a car accident!
That’s why multinationals do not have this mark
You understand at this point, that large companies and especially multinationals of food are careful to introduce a nuisance such as the CE mark on egg products, since they do not strictly have the obligation to do it.
In addition to the CE mark there are inspections of the ASL, the NAS, the Fraud Repression, the Traffic Police, etc.
This is true, but these are occasional and random inspections, which may not even occur for several years if there are no particular issues in food companies.
With the CE mark, inspections are constant and regular throughout the year.
In addition, you can also be extracted from the Commission of the European Community: it happened to Tuttovo twice.
In this case, the inspection is carried out by EC officials who shall assist the veterinarian responsible for the supervision of the company.
There are over 20 procedures that TUTTOVO puts in place to produce Biobontà sauces and thus comply with the requirements of the law, which concern raw materials, semi-finished products that the company places on the market, the company staff, their clothing and their constant training and information.
Innovation and high product quality combined with a strong attention to the well-being and safety of the consumer, are the objectives that inspire the mission of TUTTOVO in producing its sauces.
We could also write, as multinationals do, a beautiful “corporate mission“, then frame it and put it in our office.
More concretely, at Biobontà we prefer to operate for an authentic consumer defense.
And we do this by applying with passion and seriousness the rules and procedures of the CE mark to the production of our sauces.
