Background
With over 100 years of history, Sidoli’s Ice Cream was founded by Benedetto ‘Ben’ Sidoli in 1922 when he made the three-week journey from Bardi in Italy to Cwm near Ebbw Vale.
Nowadays, the fourth generation of the Sidoli family runs the business and they produce over 45 different flavours of dairy ice cream. They have received multiple National Ice Cream Awards for their products, including a Gold Medal in 2020 for their salted caramel ice cream.
Sidoli’s have held SALSA food safety certification since 2010 and ZERO2FIVE have supported the company for several years with mentoring and internal auditing in relation to the standard.
With the launch of the new SALSA plus Ice Cream Standard in September 2022, Sidoli’s contacted ZERO2FIVE for further support. The SALSA plus Ice Cream Standard is a specific version of the SALSA standard which was launched in collaboration with the Ice Cream Alliance and provides sector specific support to ice cream producers.
Support from ZERO2FIVE
A ZERO2FIVE technologist worked with the team at Sidoli’s ice cream to go through the new SALSA Plus Ice Cream Standard and provide mentoring on its requirements. This included sector specific instructions on cleaning, supplier approval, raw material risk assessment, traceability, and food security.
ZERO2FIVE also carried out internal audits against the new standard and provided support to the company to help them to develop their food safety management system and update procedures which were identified as a result.
Sidoli’s were audited by SALSA in February 2023 and have now successfully received their certification.
Benefits of the support
As a result of securing SALSA Plus Ice Cream Standard certification, Sidoli’s have been able to maintain their reputation as a manufacturer of high quality, safe products. This has enabled the company to retain their existing customers across Wales and safeguard 14 jobs within the company.
In future, ZERO2FIVE plans to support Sidoli’s by reviewing their production processes to identify potential waste reduction opportunities within the business.
Stef Sidoli, Sidoli's Ice Cream: “The support from ZERO2FIVE has been vital to our business. The depth of knowledge and expertise they provide is extremely valuable in assisting with our SALSA audits and inspections. The support is always provided in a professional but approachable manner. I would highly recommend working with ZERO2FIVE if you are a food business.”
