Listening to Simo Schulz present a thin white sheet of paper makes your mouth water. Words such as flavours, dumplings and aroma cooking pop up in the presentation of Metsä Tissue’s VP, Business Development and Projects.
But the list of certificates and standards he recites is even longer. Before baking paper reaches the shop shelves and finds its way to the kitchen, it has undergone an amazing number of origin, environmental, quality and safety tests.
“Metsä Group’s baking and cooking papers are exported in large containers to as many as 66 countries. Each country has its national product requirements,” says Schulz.
Before calculating the number of inspections that baking paper production requires at the mill, let’s begin with the quality control of wood products at the source – in the forest.
Metsä Group’s SAGA Baking Paper is made of long fibre pulp. The PEFC label found on the baking paper package indicates that the product and its packaging are made of wood from sustainably managed forests. This means that the origin of wood is known, and that attention has been paid to aspects like biodiversity.
“In certain conditions, the environmental assessment of wood-based products can be traced back to the seed, because the usage areas of cultivated seeds in Finland are specified based on the seeds’ origin,” says Anni Koponen, Sustainability Manager at Metsä Group.
International ISO standards go a long way
When wood approaches the boiler, it is time for purity, quality and safety inspections. Special attention is required in debarking to ensure that no bark ends up in the pulp, causing paper spots.
After debarking, pulpwood moves to chipping. It takes more than half a day for woodchips to be converted into pulp. The entire process is monitored with nearly twenty indicators. Computers keep tabs on variables such as temperature, flowrates and chemical values.
“The mill’s hygiene is an important part of product safety,” says Marko Ruottinen, Metsä Fibre’s Sustainability Manager, pointing out that all Metsä Group’s mills fulfill food hygiene requirements.
Quality monitoring is influenced by customer requirements and the properties of the end product. The lightness or strength of pulp may be essential.
According to Ruottinen, the quality and safety of pulp can usually be verified for the customer using international ISO standards. ISO 9001 is an indication of quality assurance; ISO 14001 of environmental management. Pulp used for baking paper must also comply with the ISO 22000 standard for food safety.
There is also a certificate for safety at work, known as OHSAS, or the Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series.
All these aspects are monitored through the company’s own audits and external audits, in which information about the product, its production and raw material acquisition is thoroughly documented – and the stack of documents continues to grow.
“Among other things, audit reports indicate whether employees are aware of the quality system, whether the calculations and entries required for certification are accurate, and whether they’ve been appropriately recorded in the documents,” says Koponen.
Kosher certificate and test taster
Metsä Tissue’s baking paper mills are in Mänttä in Finland and Düren in Germany. When you learn about all their product control indicators, you’re bound to lose count of the various standards and certificates for wood – if you haven’t already done so. The resulting reports can easily add up to an equivalent of 10 metres of baking paper before the wood obtained from the forest has been made into paper for cooking.
Some of the audits are statutory, while others are recommendations. Many measurements and checks are part of the company’s own quality control and product development process.
The end product must also be tested. “Products that are in direct contact with food, such as baking paper and liquid packaging board, are demanding. They mustn’t leak or pass anything into the food,” says Eija Saski, Product Safety & Sustainability Manager at Metsä Group.
An overview of the criteria for baking paper and food contacts can be found in the seven-page Declaration of Compliance. It states that baking paper can also be certified for other aspects such as kosher and halal compliance.
“We’re often asked for a list of materials that we do not use in paper production,” says Saski. The list of materials to avoid includes dozens of raw materials, from almonds to heavy metals and various chemical compounds.
Among other things, baking paper must be formaldehyde- and chlorine-free. It is also subjected to sensory tests. In other words, Metsä Group employs test bakers and test tasters.
The Nordic Swan Ecolabel symbolises thorough environmental competence
There are also regional and country-specific quality, environmental and other requirements such as the German DIN standards for industrial products and the European EN standards. The different states of the USA often have their own norms for different products. Luckily for the producer, the different systems overlap in many respects.
“The German DIN and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are the strictest. They also cover the bulk of other countries’ norm requirements,” says Schulz.
Baking paper has been part of Finnish cooking traditions for more than 50 years. Home cooks know that it saves time and cleaning. According to Schulz, it also saves the environment.
“There’s less food waste if food doesn’t burn onto the dishes. For example, pans used in lunch restaurants yield one and a half portions more when lined with baking paper. What’s more, lining saves water, energy and cleaning supplies in large institutional kitchens.”
Wood is biodegradable and compostable, and so is baking paper. The EN 13432 label on the side of the package is proof of this. Next to it is the Nordic Swan Ecolabel, the official ecolabel of the Nordic countries.
“The Nordic Swan is the most authentic ecolabel in the world, as it continuously steers investment towards more environmentally friendly technology,” says Schulz.
Both products and mills must have the required environmental permits. According to Schulz, Metsä Group openly reports its mills’ environmental performance, emissions and their development in line with its focus on sustainability.
A sister product of baking paper, the SAGA Baking Form is made of paperboard and lined with baking paper. In addition to numerous standardisation and other certificates, it has also received an honorary mention for its environmental friendliness.
The New Tree 2017 competition awarded products that offered solutions to global challenges such as resource scarcity and conscious consumption. The baking form received an honorary mention for being a hero of everyday life. Made of wood fibre, the oven-proof form replaces aluminium foil pans, is biodegradable, can be burned and does not even require greasing before use.
Source: forest.fi