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Quality Assurance
Welch's Technology Center

Our Mission
The mission of Corporate Quality is to protect Welch’s brand equity through leadership in maintaining, promoting and improving product safety and quality.

 

Quality Assurance (QA) is integrally involved in the commercialization of Welch’s products around the world. Our QA department staff has more than 50 years food industry experience and scientific training in microbiology, food science and industrial engineering. Our QA experts:

• Ensure that grape and other fruit concentrates provided to produce beverages around the world meet exacting product quality standards such as for flavor,
  color, acidity, clarity and fruit solids

• Qualify the production facilities used to produce Welch’s products both in the U.S. and internationally

• Annually meet with customers to discuss their quality needs

Each business partner is assigned a dedicated QA professional who understands their business and is prepared to address quality issues and concerns quickly.

Blending Capabilities
Welch's has the ability to blend concentrates to meet our partner and customer requirements.  Concentrates and ingredients can be blended to meet a specific flavor profile, color, acidity, clarity or solids level. 



We currently blend Labrusca varieties (Concord & Niagara) and Vinifera varieties (i.e. Ruby Red, Thompson Seedless) to create custom grape concentrates.  Since we also process other fruit concentrates (i.e. apples, cranberries, etc.), we supply grape blends as well.  Flavors, dry ingredients and other grape ingredients (grape color extract, grape skin extract) can also be blended into the concentrates.

Calpis Company of Japan

We have produced several concentrates to meet Calpis’ requirements, including a recently introduced grape concentrate geared to supply a minimum polyphenol content for one of our products.

Gerber Foods Ltd. of the United Kingdom

In support of our product line launch, we provided a custom concentrate that resulted in a significant duty savings over our standard concentrate.

Puerto Rico
The need for our chilled products was identified in Puerto Rico, our QA team responded quickly to track potential issues involved with exporting a chilled product to a tropical climate.  Working with local partners, the QA team ensured that systems were put in place to address any logistical and handling concerns.