The PDO develops a mobile application that optimizes the work of the affiliated operators
Mexillón de Galicia exceeded in 2019 all its previous records in volume of certified product in port. By the end of the year, the PDO reached nearly 56 million kilos - specifically 55,886,425 kilos, 3% more than the amount reached in 2018. This consolidates the solid growth trend recorded in the last years.
The data were released this afternoon by the president of the Regulatory Council of Mexillón de Galicia, Francisco Alcalde, in an event that was attended by Galician Fisheries Minister Rosa Quintana, and which also served to present a mobile application developed for Mexillón de Galicia that will optimize the work of the affiliated operators and offers information from Intecmar
Fresh and processed
Of the total figure referred to, the volume of mussel with PDO destined for the fresh market reached 7,354,168 kilos, down 19% compared to 2018 (9,073,793 kilos). As for processed products, the total volume certificated stands at 48,532,257 kilos, compared to 44,968,286 in the previous year (8% more).
A rigorous control process
Another fundamental section for Mexillón de Galicia, the one referring to controls (a work of enormous importance to guarantee the quality and the 100% Galician origin of the mussel that reaches consumers), provides equally satisfactory figures, since during 2019 a total of 13,214 controls were carried out, of which 6,689 were of PDO.
This supervision system established by Mexillón de Galicia bases its solvency on that all operations between producers and marketers are verified independently and rigorously so that each mussel batch that is unloaded is subjected to quality control. This work is complemented by the actions carried out by Bureau Veritas, the external certification body responsible for conducting audits in the companies and floating rafts certified by the PDO. This is a very rigorous process to guarantee the quality and authenticity that the seal represents.
Registration of companies and brands
The census of companies and directory of brands that operate with the seal of Mexillón de Galicia also reflects figures in continuous rise over the last years until reaching 103 references in 2019, between purification / dispatch centers (19), centers of transformation (35) and brand directory (50). In 2018, this relationship consisted of 89 records and 73 in 2017.
Currently, there are 113 brands authorized to market their products with the seal of Mexillón de Galicia and 496 approved references of labels / packaging.
The constant increase in adhesion to our registry is explained by the PDO's own reason for being. Mexillón de Galicia provides added value linked to superior quality and 100% Galician origin of the product it certifies. An additional differentiation to which companies are not willing to give up because it becomes a very valuable asset when competing in a market made up of increasingly informed and demanding consumers who are looking for precisely that differentiation. In this scenario, our label confers a very clear competitive advantage by offering those highly demanded values: quality and origin.
Floating rafts register
The growing strength in all sections of the PDO is also found in the census of certified floating rafts that supply mussel with our quality seal. They are already a total of 2,012, 62% of which are operating in Galicia.
A complete app that optimizes the work of operators
In the course of this same act, a mobile application developed for Mexillón de Galicia was presented, whose purpose is to establish a direct communication channel with the operators that adhered to the PDO. It is a tool characterized by its great versatility.
Communicate orders, download delivery notes, access to receipts ... are some of the specific features of this application, as explained by Pablo Dorgambide, head of Qualigy Solutions. It is also adapted to serve different user profiles, which have been categorized as: organizations, producer associations, producers, marketers and control technicians (control staff of the Regulatory Council).
Together with these specific capacities adapted to each of the mentioned users, the Mexillón de Galicia app offers other sections with functions common to all profiles, such as the possibility of receiving news (when the Regulatory Council publishes a news on its website, the user will receive a notice at the terminal), notifications (personalized notice of meeting request or other information of interest sent by the Regulatory Council), in addition to information regarding the status of time or tidal cycles.
Besides all these functionalities there is another one of great relevance, since this application offers the ability to know in real time the status of the different areas of the estuaries by allowing users to access the data that Intecmar incorporates into its website related to the presence of episodes that may prevent or limit the work of producers.