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Facts / issues:

The market for gluten-free products is booming and it is among the fastest growing markets in the food industry. This is due to the fact that increasing numbers of people are diagnosed as gluten-sensitive (coeliac disease). People who are suffering from this ailment are allergic to gluten, a protein fraction that occurs in the most common cereals (wheat, barley, rye, kamut, spelt) and is incorporated into almost all modern foodstuffs.

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At the moment there is insufficient knowledge about the reason for this recent increase in numbers. It is certain that there is only one remedy for people who are suffering from this ailment: to follow a lifelong gluten-free diet.

In addition, consumer awareness of food and, hence, the demand for natural and healthy products (‘free from’ products / health products) keeps growing. Obviously, businesses are keen to respond to this market. However, high demands are imposed on the production of safe and affordable products within this market.

For example: in order to produce and pack gluten-free products, operations need to take place in a completely custom-built environment and processes need to be monitored continuously.

Even the microscopic presence of gluten may contaminate gluten-free products, so that they can no longer be used in a gluten-free diet. This phenomenon is called cross-contamination.

The solution:

DAFCO offers to its customers all the facilities that are required for marketing - as effectively and competitively as possible - gluten-free products or ‘free from’ products without the clients themselves having to make heavy investments.

To be able to achieve that, DAFCO itself manages a multitude of business processes, which we can offer to our customers as highly interesting propositions, as follows.

  • Autonomous, self-contained importation (the direct purchasing of raw materials/ingredients from the source rather than via intermediate trading, involving dealers and importers).
  • Own mill. Autonomous milling of raw materials into semi-processed product (certain kinds of flour) that may be used as ingredients for products (such as baking mixes), rather than having this operation carried out by other companies at high cost and often in improper environments (with a risk of cross-contamination in external businesses that are not specialized in gluten-free operations).
  • Autonomous lines for mixing, packaging and filling. Rather than having to outsource the final mixing of e.g. baking mixes, muesli etc. and/or entrusting external co-packers with packaging, DAFCO is in full control of this stage as well. Thus, we are sure that these operations take place safely and without any risk of contamination.
  • Autonomous quality control using our own laboratory, which has specialized in gluten research and the detection of gluten traces in products. This approach saves a lot of money. By controlling the above mentioned processes and offering them as a package, DAFCO keeps a firm grip on costs. Along these lines, DAFCO is able to reduce the margins of several steps in production that are normally carried out by several parties; in addition, these operations are offered in one bundle. This means that DAFCO's customers save money. In addition, DAFCO's full control allows optimal overview of safety compliance so that the supply of straightforward and good products is guaranteed.
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