Sint-Lucia psychiatric hospital
At Sint-Lucia psychiatric hospital, they make every effort to keep meal preparations for all their patients running smoothly every day. In recent years, they have invested heavily in food safety, with the aim of achieving the highest level of food safety: the Smiley certification. This certification shows that a company has a credible auto-control system. IDEWE helped Sint-Lucia on the way to obtaining its quality label.
IDEWE has supported Sint-Lucia for more than fifteen years. The psychiatric hospital is part of the Philippus Neri Waas & Dender Group and has increased its focus on food safety in recent years. In doing so, they must take European and Belgian legislation, such as Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) rules, into account. That’s because a lack of food hygiene can seriously harm their patients’ health.
“The FASFC has strict legislationon food safety. I’m not fully up to date with the legislation. That made IDEWE’s help more than welcome,” says Nele Rombaut, dietician at the Sint-Lucia psychiatric hospital. “In the past few years, we’ve made our way through a successful process together. And we’ve put the finishing touches to that process by obtaining a Smiley, the certificatefor food safety and the auto-control system.”
A Smiley certification is a quality label that shows the outside world our meals are perfectly safe from a food hygiene perspective.
Smiley certification for a food-safe company
Everyone at Sint-Lucia has gone the extra mile over the last six months to obtain the Smiley certification. If you have a Smiley, you’ll be subjected to fewer unexpected food safety checks, as the food safety agency knows that your business doesn’t present a risk in terms of food hygiene.
“IDEWE had already helped other hospitals in the Philippus Neri Group obtain the Smiley certification, and had a lot of experience in this field. This meant we received a lot of tips well in advance,” says Sam, dietician and senior quality and research employee at Sint-Lucia. “Having the IDEWE team there as an extra pair of eyes during the preparations was very useful. Their recommendations during an audit were a great help.”
IDEWE helps us to get things off the ground when we provide our own training. It’s a good match.
Support on all fronts
IDEWE supports Sint-Lucia on all fronts. HACCP experts have years of experience in the field of food hygiene and offer extensive assistance with administrative tasks and analyses. They also carry out microbiological inspections and temperature monitoring, as well as provide training courses.
“IDEWE provides general training courses every year. I also give a few training courses myself”, says Nele. “However, I notice that our staff often take things on board better if it comes from an external voice. That’s why it’s good to take it in turns. IDEWE also helps us to get things off the ground when we provide our own training. It’s a good match.”
A smooth transfer every time
IDEWE employees took the time to get to know Sint-Lucia in detail. And given the complex nature of Sint-Lucia’s operating processes for commercial kitchens, this was no easy task. “We work with cold food, which presents additional challenges compared to hot food. We have to prepare and chill everything in advance”, says Judith Roels, head chef at Sint-Lucia.
“The person who helped us obtain the Smiley certification was a very good listener," adds Sam. “She reassured us above all else, and didn’t overload us with tasks.”
“If there are any changes in legislation, IDEWE will take the initiative and get in touch with us.”
Excellent service
Sint-Lucia psychiatric hospital is very satisfied with IDEWE’s service and receives quick, effective answers to any questions they may have. “If we have any doubts about the health risks of a particular product, they will launch an investigation with our suppliers. And if there are any changes in the legislation, they will take the initiative and get in touch with us," concludes Nele.
Ready to improve food safety?
Prevent food hygiene from becoming a liability for your organisation.