Our CSR approach
Last year, we wrote our company’s mission:
Through this mission, we confirmed two notions that were crucial when defining our CSR strategy: responsibility and our pride of belonging to VIVESCIA.
VIVESCIA launched its own sustainability policy, LINK, in June 2022. At Délifrance, we have structured an ambitious CSR strategy, fed by the framework set by the Group but which is still our very own, directly linked to the impacts of our business, our DNA, values and ambition.
We named our approach Baking Good BETTER. "Better" means taking action now all together and ensure sustainability is at the heart of everything that we do to protect what is most precious: our planet and our people.
How our products are manufactured
History of a croissant
To begin with, our bakers create and test the recipes in our pastry laboratory in Romans-sur-Isère in the south of France.
Once the laboratory models have been validated, we move on to the industrial-scale tests. To develop the recipe on an industrial scale, we first select the raw materials: butter, flour, sugar, eggs, milk, yeast and salt.
We meet the demands of consumers and our customers on a daily basis (organic products, simplification of ingredient lists, procurement of sustainable raw materials, certifications – chocolate, palm oil, etc.- vegan products…).
Manufacturing steps
5 hours, is the duration of the production process between kneading and entry of the pallet in the cold chamber.
- Raw Material Storage
- Raw Material Weighing
- Kneading
- Extrusion of dough and butter
- Dough folding
- Rest
- Cutting
- Shaping and shaping check
- Oven baking / Browning / Deep-freezing
- Quality control laboratory
- Bagging and boxing
- Palletisation
- Storage
Close up on deep-freezing
Deep-freezing is an industrial technique which consists in cooling foodstuffs quickly and suddenly (in a few minutes to an hour) by exposing them intensely to temperatures ranging from -30°C to -50 °C.
By means of this process, the water contained in the cells is finely crystallized, thus limiting cell destruction and preventing the proliferation of micro-organisms which are rendered dormant at low temperature. The products thus treated retain their freshness, their texture and their flavour while preserving most of the nutrients and vitamins.
Food Safety
Our products quality and safety has always been a priority. Here are some of the steps we take to ensure that Délifrance products are safe to consume.
Ingredients sourcing
We follow rigorous procurement and auditing processes to ensure we select safe and high quality raw materials. This includes defining specifications for the ingredients we use, and performing checks to ensure they always comply with the regulations and our customers' expectations.
Preparation
We follow certified cleaning and sanitation practices at every step of production, and our teams are trained about food safety and hygiene from their 1st day on site.
✔ Specific protective factory clothing: our teams wear specific coats, shoes, hairnets, food safe gloves and face masks.
✔ Hand disinfection: ensured by the washing frequency and the efficiency of the products used (soap, hydroalcoholic gel).
✔ Hygiene of our factories: as part of our cleaning process, we use suitable detergents and sanitizers to ensure that the production areas and equipments are clean and safe and regularly checked.
✔ Handling of ingredients and equipments in the respect of Hygiene Practices.
Processing
Our recipes and processing techniques are rigorously formulated to always deliver safe products by following industry practice and we are continually developing our food safety system based on HACCP and integrity principles. Our premises are temperature controlled throughout the production areas and so are the critical raw materials.
Testing and release
Products and production records are assessed during the whole production run and samples are taken at regular intervals for later assessment by our dedicated Quality team before a batch is allowed to leave our factories and is declared safe to consume.
Transportation and packaging
Once frozen it is critical that our products remain at -18°C or lower throughout distribution to our customers. Our transport and cold store providers are assessed to ensure that they have the appropriate systems and records to maintain the product at the optimum temperatures.
Packaging has a vital role to play in ensuring our products reach consumers in a safe condition. It also carries clear information about how to bake and store the product, with information on ingredients as well as any allergen risks. We make sure that best-before dates are correct so our customers understand when the product will be past its best. This also helps to avoid generating unnecessary waste.