Ökodorf Brodowin
Vegetable broth
At a Glance
Details:
Product:
Vegetable broth
Producer:
Origin:
Documentation scope:
Gate to gate
Date of documentation:
January 2021
Certification:
Demeter, EU-Bio
Production time: 2 days
Seasonality: All year
Regionality: Brandenburg, Germany
Shelf life: 2 years
Production Steps
View process→
Step 2: Filtering, bottling & autoclave
Step 3: Labelling
Step 4: Sales & transport
Step 1: Preparation & cooking
Procurement
As soon as the ingredients that originate from the agriculture of Ökodorf Brodowin for producing the vegetable broth (e.g. carrots, onions, leek) are depleted, Ökodorf Brodowin buys missing products from local suppliers or farmers with the following priority:
Regional (+Bio) -> Demeter → Bioland → EU-Bio
Preparation & Cooking
Before the production can start all ingredients are collected from the storage area. Everything is put into the autoclave where the ingredients are heated to 80 degrees for approximately 14 hours.
Details
# Workers: 1
Timeframe: 1st day
Locations: Production kitchen (Eberswalde)
Machines / tools: Autoclave, trolley, NAPF-boxes
Material input: Allspice, bay leafs, carrot, celeriac, electricity, juniper, leek, onion, pepper, seasalt
Waste: Cooked vegetables
Timeline
Agriculture & storage
Every morning, vegetables produced by Ökodorf Brodowin or bought from other suppliers are processed for selling or further processing at the agriculture facilities in Brodowin.
Transport to the production facilities in Eberswalde
Preparation
All ingredients are collected from the storage. Ökodorf Brodowin preferably uses vegetables that are not good for selling in other sales channels due to its form or light damage for their broth production. Sometimes, other damaged vegetables (e.g. Paprika or tomatoes) are included to spare them from being thrown away.
Cooking
The ingredients are put in the autoclave and the autoclave is filled with water. Then the vegetables are heated to 80 degrees for approximately 14 hours. Usually, the vegetable broth cooks overnight so that the production does not block the autoclave for a whole day.
Step 2: Filtering, bottling & autoclave
Filtering & Bottling
Early in the morning, the broth is filtered by a cloth strainer and filled into stainless steel tanks. After the filtering process the broth is bottled with a semi automatic bottling machine. It is important that the freshly filtered broth is bottled in a short period of time after the filtering process. Otherwise the broth develops a bitter taste. Now the filled glass jars are stored until they are autoclaved.
Autoclave
Next, the filled jars are placed back into the autoclaves. There, the jars are heated to 108 degrees for one hour. The resulting pressure in combination with the temperature seals the jars and kills any germs present. After autoclaving, the broth has a shelf life of two years.
Details
# Workers: 1-3
Timeframe: 2nd day
Locations: Production facility (Eberswalde), distribution facility (Eberswalde)
Machines / tools: Autoclave, bottling machine, NAPF-boxes, trolley
Material input: Electricity (machines and facilities), fuel (transport), glass jar, gum ring, metal clips, cloth strainer (etamin)
Waste: Cooked vegetables, used cloth strainers, dirty water (cleaning)
Timeline
Filtering
The broth is filtered with cloth strainers and filled into big stainless steel containers. The cooked vegetables are thrown away and the used machines are cleaned.
Bottling
Then the broth is bottled into glass jars (530 ml) within a short time period after the filtering process. Otherwise the broth will be inedible or at least the broth develops a strong bitter taste. The used machines are cleaned and the filled glass jars are stored until the autoclaving process starts.
Autoclave
For autoclaving, the glasses are stacked in the autoclave and then heated to 108 degrees. Through the resulting pressure the glasses are closed and disinfected.
Transport to distribution facility in Eberswalde
Step 3: Labelling
General Information
In the distribution facility, the glasses are labelled by the labelling machine, packed for different sales channels and stored until the products are sold.
Details
Workers: 1-2
Timeframe: 2nd day
Locations: Distribution facility (Eberswalde)
Machines / tools: Labelling machine, plastic foil
Material input: Carton, electricity (machines and facilities), labels
Waste: Excess / damaged labels, open jars
Timeline
Loading & labelling
The glass jars are loaded onto the labelling machine and the labelling process starts.
Storage
The labelled vegetable broths are packed into cartons (6 glasses each) and stacked onto europallets.
Step 4: Sales & transport
General Information
Ökodorf Brodowin sells its products through several distribution channels, such as direct sales in the farm store or direct delivery to customers through the Brodowin delivery service. In addition, Ökodorf Brodowin supplies wholesalers (Terra Naturkost, etc.) and in part directly to retailers (Alnatura, Bio Company, Edeka, Rewe). The products are packaged differently for the aforementioned distribution channels. Wholesalers and retailers, for example, are supplied with whole or half pallets, while the products ordered by the delivery service and the farm store are packaged individually.
The jars can be returned by customers either directly or in some cases also via partners in the organic retail. When returned to the facilities of Ökodorf Brodowin the jars are washed, the label is removed and they are returned to the production cycle. These are non-deposited reusable items.
Details
# Workers: 1-2
Timeframe: Depends on destination & distribution channel
Machines / tools: Transport vehicle
Material input: Electricity (facilities), fuel (transport)
Locations: Distribution facility (Eberswalde)
