Expert interview Series #5: Quality & EHS Manager
We’re kicking off our expert interview series to discover our technical expert at SEQENS Personal Care! We’re pleased to introduce Emmanuelle Reuter, one of our experts in Quality & EHS in Limoges, France.We asked her a few questions about her expertise in the industrial field.
Could you tell us about your background and your current role at SEQENS Personal Care?
Emmanuelle : I started my career in the food industry, then set up a business in food certification where I worked for almost 20 years. I was conducting some audits myself and also leading a business unit.
After such a long time in the food business, I decided that I would like to explore other industries and had the opportunity to move to a pharmaceutical CDMO, where I was in charge of quality-related projects.
This is when I came across the Limoges site, which was looking for a Quality, Health, Safety, and Environment Manager. The broadness of the job and the diversity of the products convinced me to go ahead with this new challenge.
What are the main responsibilities of the Quality & HSE department within a company like SEQENS Personal Care?
Emmanuelle : The QHSE department is responsible for making sure that legal requirements are fulfilled, whether for environment, safety, or quality. We also make sure that our clients’ requirements are fulfilled. For that, we have a QC department checking the raw materials, in-process products, and finished products. We also approve suppliers and raw materials, with a wide range going from truffles or caviar to peaches or thyme. Part of our job is also being present in production to help avoid any safety issues and solve product issues.
What are the key quality and HSE challenges that the SEQENS Personal Care site in Limoges focuses on?
Emmanuelle : Among the main challenges we face in our activity are the growing expectations for naturality, the variability of raw materials, and the need to reduce our environmental impact:
- Clients who want more natural ingredients and fewer chemicals, but also more stability, and we must find ways to increase the stability of plant/fruit extracts without preservatives or with natural preservatives.
- Another example is linked to the nature of our raw materials. Fruits, plants, etc., vary greatly depending on the season, weather conditions, etc., but our clients always want the same quality of ingredients. We therefore must try to work with very small producers to bring them to industrial standards.
- Regarding the environment, one of our projects for the coming months will be to try to minimize the amount of water we use on site.
How do you integrate sustainability and environmental responsibility principles at the Limoges site?
Emmanuelle : Sustainability is a day-to-day concern, as it is not only very trendy but also has a financial impact. One recent example I have in mind is that we have bought equipment for production to help separate bags from the fruits/plants used for our cosmetic ingredients. This will allow us to send all used plants/fruits to a composting sector. Until now, they could not be separated. We are also stepping away from palm-sourced materials, which are very controversial from an environmental point of view. We are replacing one of our palm-sourced products with a rapeseed-based product. This will not change the product for the client but will make it more sustainable. We also had a project on pomegranate last year, where we were able to find a local source directly in France. The client now has a locally sourced pomegranate extract.
What tools or approaches do you implement to ensure quality, safety, and traceability throughout the production chain of botanical active ingredients?
Emmanuelle : Quality, safety, and traceability start at the door of the factory or even before. Our commercial team is seeking new trends among our customers, and we see how we can fulfill those new trends. We work closely with our suppliers, sometimes farmers, to find high-quality products sourced locally. We then work closely with the operators to train them on what the clients’ expectations are.
Our QC lab checks all attributes of the products to confirm that the product is suitable for use and contains all claimed actives. We have developed a French, organically sourced Sens’Flower™, a botanical active ingredient specifically designed for environmentally sensitive skin. The saffron we use is a coproduct of the food industry, allowing us to valorize an existing ingredient in a sustainable way. Qualification of a supplier includes agreement to Seqens’ ethics standards and completion of a questionnaire to assess the supplier’s reliability. The supplier also completes a form with details on the saffron: how it is harvested, what analyses are carried out (pesticides, etc.). Upon receipt of the flowers, we check the organic status, the origin of the product, and perform a visual inspection of the flowers to ensure they are of the required quality.
