Our Supply-Chain

Our Supply Chain

We strongly believe that the supply chain is a coordinated set of interconnected activities and entities that collaborate to achieve a common goal: to take a product from the raw material supplier stage to the end consumers. The goal of effective supply chain management is to maximize efficiency, facilitating the sharing of products and information between parties. Ultimately, the aim is to reduce costs and time, which also allows the company to optimize customer service.

Our commitment within our supply chain:

• Supplier Engagement
• Responsible sourcing
• Alignment with the commitment to sustainability
• Reduce costs
• Risk mitigation
• Creating internal support 
• Exploitation of third-party programs 
• Collaborations
• Involvement of all stakeholders

Responsible Sourcing

Mangia, Inc. does not directly provide raw materials for the production of its products. Mangia outsources production to trusted co-packers/manufacturers, performing annual evaluations to validate these suppliers to ensure that they can meet all quality and safety certifications and standards, as well as meet set product specifications. Mangia has developed trusted, long-term relationships with its co-packer partners. This provides another level of confidence in the quality and safety of its products.

Co-Packers have been carefully selected based on the following criteria:

1. Legality of production
2. Conformity of production
3. Security of productions, stocking, and delivery
4. Certifications
5. Business agreement

Business Continuity Plan

Mangia, Inc. can be considered a company with high risk of impact of catastrophic events like earthquakes, fires, etc. Its vulnerability assessment can be obtained by evaluating the information inserted on the web and considering historical data. To guarantee business continuity in case of catastrophes, Mangia, Inc has organized its supply-chain following this mitigation plan:

• Maintaining multiple and different tomato suppliers
• Production is performed in different crop seasons
• Goods are shipped at different times
• Finished product is stocked in different warehouses located in different regions in USA.

Sustainable agriculture

We promote best practices in agriculture by offering our support to farmers, with the vision of building and developing more resilient supply chains, with an approach that aims to preserve nature and not exploit it one-way. We support all practices that combine traditional knowledge with modern and intelligent scientific knowledge, through climate-smart practices and by intersecting the awareness of customers and consumers of the benefits of regenerative agriculture.

Collaboration with consortia

Mangia, Inc. is member of ANICAV (National Association of Industrial Vegetable Food Preserves), the largest association representing tomato processing companies in the world in terms of number of member companies and quality of processed product.

We collaborate with consortia and organizations that guarantee the quality of raw materials.
We focus on establishing collaborative relationships with suppliers, encouraging them to continuously supply raw materials according to our agreed high-quality standards.
In addition, processes are implemented to collect information on past and present threats to the supply chain in order to mitigate the risks of adulteration or counterfeiting of raw materials.

It emerged that the contents of the specification D.P.I.(DISCIPLINARE DI PRODUZIONE INTEGRATA POMODORO DA INDUSTRIA  CENTRO-SUD ITALIA ANNO 2024) drawn up by Producer Organizations and ANICAV, are in line with the 5 principles of Sustainable Agriculture identified at the time by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and, subsequently, reaffirmed by the UN 2030 Agenda for the sustainable development of people and the planet. 

Specifically, the specification succeeds well in extending the concept of “Sustainability” by recommending various practices including: 

• Use of biodegradable mulching films. 
• Protection of pollinating insects and Safeguarding of Biodiversity. 
• Use of cultivars tolerant/resistant to different pathogens, so as to minimize defense actions. 
• Optimisation of the use of fertilisers and pesticides.

Therefore, the adoption of a defense management system based on risk assessment and the actual need for chemical treatment is indicated, to be done only in the event of the real presence of the adversity and potential damage to the crop. In the specific case of insects, it is advisable to intervene only after the verification of the monitoring traps, i.e. when the intervention threshold is exceeded. 

Promotion of the use of modern decision support systems, which use digital components, hardware and software, to facilitate eco-sustainable and eco-efficient practices. 

It should be noted that the entire supply chain of industrial tomato derivatives, committed, over the years, to the correct and timely application of this tool, has managed to operate in such a way as to increasingly reduce the environmental impact, while also raising the standard of food safety. In particular, it should be noted that the numerous multi-residue analyses of active substances used in phytosanitary defense, systematically carried out on fresh and processed tomatoes, constantly show values that comply with the limits established by the regulations governing the matter. 

It is understood that “sustainability” manages to achieve maximum value when all the players in the supply chain, those who grow, those who process, those who offer services and production factors (logistics, retailers, etc.) and those who consume, do their part. Otherwise, there is no sustainable product.

Integrated agriculture 

Integrated agriculture or integrated production is an agricultural production system with a low environmental impact that provides for the coordinated and rational use of the different production factors, in order to minimize the use of technical means that can have a negative impact on the environment and/or on the health of consumers. With this production method, priority is given to ecologically safer cultivation techniques by limiting the use of synthetic chemicals, in order to increase safety for the environment and human health. Its implementation requires specialized technical assistance, by technicians qualified to act as consultants for the protection of plants with a low supply of plant protection products.

The protection of biodiversity is one of the main objectives of integrated production, as it contributes substantially to the reduction of synthetic chemicals, for which the adoption of at least one of the following environmentally friendly practices is prescribed: 

– use of useful organisms (direct biological control); 

– use of traps for monitoring insects (pheromones, chromotropics, etc.); 

– maintenance of uncultivated areas as refuge areas for auxiliaries, equal to at least 4% of the company surface, as also provided for by the P.A.C. 2023/2027. 

– planting of hedges and/or Mediterranean scrub; 

– installation of nests or other shelters for useful organisms. 

The tomato, native to an area of the American continent that goes from Chile to Peru and Ecuador, has also found a favorable environment for its development in the Mediterranean basin and, in particular, in the territories of Central and Southern Italy. The land intended for the cultivation of tomatoes must be located at a distance of not less than 200 meters from the potential sources of pollution surveyed. Before carrying out a tomato cultivation, the suitability of the site is verified. 

The use of healthy and high-quality propagation material is essential to effectively prevent damage from virosis, bacteriosis, mycosis and many other pathogens that can compromise the success of the crop. Therefore, all propagation materials must be accompanied by a delivery note and/or invoice with the relevant “Plant Passport” (EU Reg. 2016/2031 and related implementing regulations). 

The use of propagation material obtained with molecular engineering techniques (Genetically Modified Organisms) is prohibited. 

The GMO Free declaration can be issued on an associative basis, after acquiring the necessary documentation.

The choice of the variety, moreover, is of fundamental importance for the achievement of an excellent quality and quantitative standard of the final product and to this end the following characteristics are to be considered priorities: 

– resistance and/or tolerance to plant diseases; 

– transplantation time and environmental adaptation; 

-productivity; 

– homogeneity of ripening; 

– suitability for mechanical harvesting; 

-Organoleptic; 

– aptitude for industrial transformation according to the different destinations. 

Tolerances/resistance to adversity represent the priority in the varietal choice. 

The tomato benefits from deep tillage of the soil, which promotes deepening of the roots and better drainage of rainwater and irrigation. The arrangement of the land must be carried out taking into account the texture and fertility of the soil, the climatic characteristics of the area and the cultivation needs of the species, and must aim at optimal management of water resources, to promote rapid drainage of water and to avoid runoff and asphyxiation. In the open field, the tomato can be both transplanted and sown directly, to date the most widespread practice is transplanting and it is advisable to implement a wide crop rotation.

Fertilizers are defined by current legislation as “products whose main function is to provide nutrients to plants“, the types allowed are governed by the European Regulation (EC Reg. 2003/2003), by national legislation (Legislative Decree 75/2010), by the legislation for organic farming (EC Reg. 834/2007 and EC Reg. 889/2008) and subsequent amendments and additions. The recommended watering method is the localized “drip” one. 

Drip irrigation allows the plant to have constant water availability, with a consequent advantage on the formation of sugars and, moreover, allows considerable water savings compared to low-efficiency irrigation methods (sliding, sprinkling, etc.) which must be excluded. 

The optimal time for harvesting coincides with the achievement of commercial maturity. During harvesting operations, berries must be sorted, eliminating green, split, rotten and other defects. Before harvesting, the Producer Organizations undertake to carry out multi-residue analyses. 

Farmer support

Mangia, Inc. supports farmers both in the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices and in the development of specific training and awareness-raising campaigns, to promote a culture of sustainability throughout the supply chain. For us, responsibility within the supply chain also means collaborating with suppliers to carry out projects focusing on environmental sustainability – reducing the consumption of water for irrigation and agro-pharmaceutical uses and optimizing water from Phyto-sanitary treatments (mix residues in tanks and equipment cleaning water) and promoting biodiversity within systems supporting pollination. 

Logistics Optimization, Efficiency and Security

With a view to a green supply chain, it is essential for us to strategically plan the transport of our goods to our warehouses, where they are stored with efficient and safely systems. 

Adopting practices to reduce transport-related pollution is key to improving our sustainability. We have therefore implemented the following strategies:

• Optimisation of distribution routes

• Consolidation of shipments

• Use of low-emission vehicles

• Full loads and efficient vehicles

• Alternative modes of transport

• Promotion of intermodal transport

• Reduction of empty trips

• Improvement of local logistics

• Driver education and training 

Mangia, Inc. is a 23-year committed member of the C-TPAT (Customs and Trade Partnership Against Terrorism) program to assure food security during production and storage of goods.

Since 2002 it is our corporate commitment to support and enforce ALL the initiatives of the US Department of Homeland Security as it relates to the security of our goods around the world and especially to our US Operations, including the importance of protecting the supply chain from criminal activities such as drug trafficking, terrorism, human trafficking, illegal smuggling, agricultural protection. 

For a CTPAT Member’s supply chain security program to become and remain effective, it must have the support of a company’s upper management. Instilling security as an integral part of a company’s culture and ensuring that it is accompany wide priority is in large part the responsibility of the company’s leadership.

For Mangia, Inc. it is essential to safeguard intellectual property, customer information, financial and business data. Due to the high flow of electronic data and the need to safeguard it, our company has adopted an external computer server and makes daily data backups.
To defend information systems from common cybersecurity threats, Mangia, Inc. has installed adequate software/hardware protection from malware (viruses, spyware, worms, trojans, etc.) and internal/external instructions (firewalls) in members’ computer systems. Such, they must ensure that cybersecurity software is up-to-date and receive regular updates. Our IT systems are regularly tested for security, so that if vulnerabilities occur, corrective and timely actions are taken to safeguard the entire system. In addition, our employees are instructed on the correct use of IT systems and company policy, so that they have a correct use without leaving vulnerabilities to attacks.