I wanted to give a peek behind the scenes at some of the goings on for Sirene these past few months. For many years our bars have been sold in Whole Foods outlets. In order to continue selling there, we are now required to go through a third party audit— in addition to the rigorous local and federal health inspections Sirene undergoes.
The third party audit involves a new level of scrutiny, opening up every part of our chocolate-making workflows to an outside food safety monitor. Their task--besides endless hours of paperwork? To ensure our processes meet the highest safety standards: analysing our steps on the topics of biological, heavy metal and physical contaminants in the cocoa beans, to the many other steps performed in actually making chocolate.
All in the name of safely ensuring the highest quality chocolate for you.
Going through this audit has reminded me just how small Sirene is compared to most of the suppliers Whole Foods works with. It's also a sign that Sirene is at a junction -- being subject to this level of inspection means we are held to the same standards that huge companies are…but in reality Sirene is still a very tiny, family-run company.
And when I say family-run, I truly mean it: a small factory in a residential neighbourhood (photo above) where my children have been known to play hide-and-seek amongst the cocoa bean sacks.
Located mere hundreds of meters from the Pacific Ocean in British Columbia, our factory's coastal proximity directly influenced both our name and the marine-themed packaging, reflecting our deep connection to the Canadian coast.
From this small family business to you - I hope you enjoy the chocolate we pour ourselves into.