From Farm to Fork or how to do traceability

In this day and age of global product recall and tightening compliance regulation from both retail customers and government agencies, lot tracking is more important than ever. Every segment of the food manufacturing industry needs to ensure that their traceability efforts are up to the highest standard in order to do business with global retail brands. Some of the safety agencies include:

Knowing the individual agencies and councils and their specific requirements are the first step you need to take when looking at what is required while you scale your business and start working with larger retail customers.

Many food manufacturing companies already have some form of product tracing system and/or software in place. However, not all systems are created equal. Knowing how important traceability functionality is to running your facility, it’s important to consider the following:

How much information is the system able to record (nutrient info, point of origin, production scheduling)
How far forward and backward in the supply chain the system tracks
The precision that the system can pinpoint a product’s movement
What technologies are used to maintain records

the main functionalities that you need to be searching for are accurate product traceability and product recall. As your business scales and you begin to work with larger retailers, it’s imperative that you’re able to prove you can execute an accurate and timely product recall.

Prevention and proof

A holistic view of food safety will incorporate prevention-and-proof as well as the traditional record-and-response approach to lot tracking and recall. The prevention-and-proof approach features a number of key focal points, including:

Built-in quality procedures that can enforce quality audits at various stages of material movement, from receiving through to shipping. All relevant QC test data is recorded and retained permanently
A preventive maintenance module that ensures proper maintenance and upkeep of production equipment and the facility as a whole
Inventory picking based on “first expiry-first out” principals, enforcing inventory picking through directed or suggested methods
Inventory expiry analysis to show raw materials and finished goods that are expired or nearing expiration to keep them from completing the processing and making their way to your customers.
Tracking the nutrients in an item and comparing those nutrients against the government’s recommended values
Full food safety reporting and document retention to satisfy the most thorough external audits.
Automated recording of dates of receiving, movement, transfers, picking, and staging

Allergen recording

Lot number changes recorded as the product is produced; while t.racking each lot number of stated ingredients
All relevant tests, production activities, inspections, incubations are recorded
Finished good shipment data is recorded, including lot number, name, address, phone number, email, transportation carrier, bill of lading number, mode of transportation, date of delivery and COA if applicable.
A complaint management system for handling, investigating and resolving complaints

The layers of production tracking

The various types of product tracking can be thought of in terms of layers. With the production process being a single layer stacked on top of the previous process, you’re able to peel back each level of production to see where an error has been made. It also gives you the ability to look ahead and see where that material has gone to next.

Tracking at the item level: “Item” information only entered into your system essentially means no traceability, because every transaction for that item will look similar.

Tracking at the lot level: “Lot” refers to multiple units of an item tied together via a lot number.
Tracking at the serial number level: Every single unit of an item will have a unique serial number tied to it. This is less common than the first two levels (item and lot) but the serial number is important if you need to record the catch weight of every case of an item.
Tracking at the container level: features an additional layer of tracking called “Container Tracking.” This is more of an internal tracking method where you can track a group of items as part of a single “container number.” You can use this number to locate a group of inventory in your warehouse as opposed to having to look up every individual item/lot/serial number (also known as ‘license plating’).

How deep is your level of detail?

The ability to easily see the entire history of the item/lot/serial number within a single interface is a critical component of your food traceability software. Why? Here are a few instances:

Where and how: From the time an item/lot/serial is purchased or produced, through the time it leaves your facility, every transaction is tracked in a single place in the software and can be reported on. Internal movements, such as moving inventory around the warehouse, are included in this tracking.
Who: You can see who made the transaction in case you’re doing an audit and want to review the employee’s process and procedures.
When: includes the ability for all inventory transactions to be time-stamped – not just the date, but the exact time that the transaction took place.

Lot tracking for raw materials

It’s highly recommended to assign the level of lot numbering to the items you purchased as raw materials, even if the vendor doesn’t provide one to you. This is important because if a vendor tells you there’s an issue with the product you received from them last week, without that lot traceability you would have to guess which product it was. By assigning lot numbering to materials you’re able to review all the materials in the bad shipment and see other shipments that have those same materials.

Lot tracking by the shift

Let’s say you are doing tracking at your facility, but the lot numbers are only changed at the start of each workday. You have three product shifts a day for that item. If you have to do a recall, you’ll attempt to trace your items back by lot number, which will require you to have to look at an entire day’s worth of inventory. However, if the lot number was changed at the start of each shift, if a recall happens, you can limit the trace of the exact shift that produced the item. That may also mean you have to recall less product.

Allergen tracking

If you are manufacturing food using ingredients or products that contain allergens, your lot tracking is even more important. Additional granularity around on the items that those raw materials come in contact with is required so that you know which products may contain traces of allergens and which do not.

Tracking goods from other countries

If your products and/or ingredients are coming from other countries, it is important that you are able to track the country of origin. From when the raw materials enter your facility all the way through to finished goods. Visibility into international good is a hot topic these days, given the publicity around some bad materials coming from various countries. The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), signed into law in 2011, requires exporters and importers of food in the U.S. to demonstrate proof of certified compliance with the new laws. Foreign suppliers will have to show proof of meeting U.S. standards for food production and distribution safety in order to be allowed to sell food in the U.S.

How fast are you product recalls?

Even if your company can meet the 24-hour minimum requirement set by the federal U.S. government to enact a product recall, many customers are starting to expect even faster results. What if you could get your product recall process down to 60 seconds? You do bi-directional product recalls, using lot tracing data from the material level and up. Our system also integrates with Microsoft Word and Outlook, filling in the blanks of official letters and alerts to your customers within a minute, ensuring you get the word out as quickly as possible.

Food becomes contaminated – at any number of stages in the supply chain
An allergen isn’t listed on the food label
Food came in contact with an allergen at some point during processing
Foreign materials were found in the batch
Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) regulations weren’t followed

QR codes for tracking – key for fresh pack/produce growers

The use of QR codes makes it easier for food companies to follow produce traceability guidelines. For produce specifically, a QR code scan can display all the product data across its supply chain. Example: a Q$ code on the side of a case of apples in your warehouse can be scanned by a device like a smartphone/a tablet, which takes the user to a web page with a lot number, date of production, etc. QR codes can carry a lot more information than the traditional bar code and scanner gun. there is an add-in that allows your ERP system to create and use QR codes. A quick update to your implementation enables QR codes to be placed almost anywhere in the Microsoft Dynamics environment – reports, forms, etc.

Capella Innovation can help you go through those certifications. To have those certifications is about establishing a food safety program in your organization to protect your brand, your buyer and your reputation.

1-Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) certification ensures the integrity of your food manufacturing process as well as your compliance with food safety regulation.

2-The Safe Quality Food (SQF) Program is a rigorous and credible food safety and quality program that is recognized by retailers, brand owners, and food service providers worldwide.

3-Food Safety System Certification (FSSC 22000) as designed to provide companies in the food industry with an ISO-based food safety management system certification that is recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI).