CARICOM is a major supplier of RICE, CEREALS and OILSEEDS:

research is one of the main bases for the design of a raw material capable of meeting the expectations of the partner companies.

For CARICOM is in fact essential to analyze all the processes involved in the production chain from seed to the purchase of rice and various cereals, storage and further processing and packaging operations and handling of products.

CARICOM assesses and manages all stages of the processes that produce raw materials. And this strategy focuses on a confidence gained through years of activity: the "design" quality starts from farmland (rice paddy etc.) and ends on the tables of the world.

The product (content and packaging) is the most tangible response to peoples' expectations and has the basic characteristics of safety, flavour and nutrition.

FOOD SAFETY

A prerequisite of any food product is the guarantee of safety for the health:

for this reason it is indispensable, during the design stage, to develop products that are against contamination risks arising from raw materials, packaging materials, manufacturing and distribution systems and processes (from farm to fork).

In relation to:

- chemical, microbiological, biological and particle-sized contaminants: the product, in addition to complying with applicable legislation, must conform to additional and/or more restrictive internal requirements that may be defined in accordance with specific company objectives;

- GM: the product must be made from non-GM ingredients that do not contain GM substances and do not derive from GM substances.

FLAVOUR AND NUTRITIONAL CHARACTERISTICS

The product must be perceived as being in excellent condition at the moment of consumption, and at the same time, it must be privileged the use of natural raw materials or where this is not possible for customer's choice, the use of naturally extract components.

MANUFACTURING PROCESSES

These must ensure that products comply with the specified requirements in a continuous manner and must minimise the risk of product contamination. To this end, hygiene standards and hygiene management systems must be established during the design stage for new plants.
The technologies employed must go as far as possible to protect the integrity, naturalness and nutritional properties of the ingredients.

The agro-food chain is the network that connects the main activities that contribute to the creation, processing, distribution and marketing of agro-food industry.

CARICOM purchases in several world countries controlling a total of 40 supply chains for raw materials and 5 chains for packaging materials.

To manage such a complex process and answer the question of sustainability of the partners, has been developed an efficient system of control. This system provides as first step the selection of the best and most reliable suppliers, which the company joins with control systems and collaboration that point to a continued improvement in supplies.

The most important chains are those of RICE and primary CEREALS. These are strategic raw materials.