Tag Archives: data

Paul Bradley
Ask The Expert

Ask the Expert: Five Steps for Success in Digitization and Technology Selection

By Paul Bradley
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Paul Bradley

Across the food and beverage industry, organizations are undertaking a wide variety of data-oriented technology initiatives. There are a host of reasons for the trend, and indeed the convergence of multiple factors is likely behind the growing urgency for digitization within many food and beverage brands, manufacturers and supplier organizations. To be sure, ongoing supply chain instability over the last three or more years has put a focus on supply chain resilience and the need for more nimble and flexible supply networks. A dynamic and ever-changing global regulatory landscape is driving compliance and reporting requirements that are increasingly difficult to meet without a solid digital strategy in place. ESG initiatives are driving the need for increased visibility into global supply chains. Evolving consumer preferences create pressures on R&D organizations for continued product innovation, all of which needs to take place within acceptable safety, quality and risk management parameters. And of course, hovering over all of this is a tight (and increasingly costly) labor market, putting increased focus on opportunities for automation and increased efficiently.

Alongside these macro-level global trends, technology itself is moving forward at a rapid pace. The global food and beverage value chain has become more interconnected than ever before, with massive amounts of information moving around the world at remarkable speed. And of course, no discussion of technology is complete without a mention of artificial intelligence (AI). While by no means a new idea—many mature AI-based technologies have existed within the industry for years—AI is evolving quickly. Generative AI technologies, hardly known prior to 2023, are now appearing across the technology landscape, and dominating discussions around technology investment and strategy.

Confronted with all of this, food and beverage industry leaders could be forgiven for feeling a bit overwhelmed. Not only is more information (some valuable, some less so) available than ever before, but a profusion of technology solutions are vying for attention, nearly all promising new levels of insight and productivity. The landscape is complex, but there are a few basic steps that teams can take to help ensure that any potential technology investments are pointed in the right direction and are set up for long term success. Let’s examine five basic, but important steps that can help guide digitization efforts to a strong outcome.

TraceGains Five steps graphic

1. Starting with the end in mind. The objective of a technology implementation should never be to implement a platform. Usually, technology investments start with a business problem that needs to be solved. For food safety teams, this can encompass a range of possibilities, from a desire to reduce error and gain efficiencies in processes, to a need for better real-time monitoring of processes already in place, to a desire to decrease global risk exposure in an increasingly diverse supplier environment. Whatever the situation, teams can substantially de-risk technology investments by being crystal clear on the business objectives (not simply the implementation goals) of a given initiative. Clearly defining a “north star” in terms of expected business outcomes, and revisiting those goals often, can help keep projects focused, and avoid costly missteps and poor prioritization decisions along the way.

2. Defining stakeholders. Though seemingly obvious, it can be surprisingly easy for teams to launch an initiative without a clear view of impacted stakeholders. Typically, a given technology solution will have relatively well-understood functional owners within an organization. But it’s equally important to understand downstream groups that may have to interact with the solution or its outputs. Direct users, too, are a stakeholder community that can easily be overlooked. A solution that does its job on paper but doesn’t align with the working conditions of an end-user community is going to run into challenges. External stakeholders may also need to be considered, as suppliers, customers, contract manufacturers and other entities can all become obstacles to program success if their buy-in hasn’t been considered early in the process.

3. Supplementing (vs. replacing) human intelligence. With all the buzz around AI, it’s easy to get excited about the longer-term possibilities of the technology. And that’s appropriate – AI has already had notable effects on industry technologies and will continue to do so in the years to come. But it’s equally important to consider the current state of generative AI solutions, and be realistic about the limitations and risks of the technology as it exists today. A useful framework for this approach can be to think in terms of how AI can help supplement, even maximize, the intelligence and expertise of human users. Can it consolidate data that would be cumbersome to organize and collate? Can it scan information and flag likely priorities for further investigation?

In the high-stakes environment of food safety and quality, the overlay of hard-earned human knowledge and awareness is going to remain necessary for a long time to come. At the same time, AI-based solutions are already present in the space, and those who use them wisely may very well realize a significant market advantage over those who shy away entirely.

4. Getting real about data quality. Whether the discussion is about AI, data insights, analytics, compliance reporting or automation, most technologies run on data. Put another way, most technologies aren’t any better than the data they consume. The ancient saying, “garbage in, garbage out” remains depressingly current, many decades after the dawn of computing.  As a result, it’s important to take a hard look at the quality, completeness, consistency and structure of the information that a potential technology solution will need to access in order to deliver on its promise. On the positive side, qualified technology providers should be able to provide assistance and clear guidance through the data side of any implementation, and in an increasingly networked world, providers may even be able to come to the table with useful industry data and data management practices that make this part of the digitization journey easier and faster. But it’s important not to skip this step; many are the solutions that never lived up to their potential because the data they needed to consume wasn’t workable.

5. Lastly, as initiatives come together, it’s important to loop back to the original business objectives that were clarified in the first step. Have those objectives been met and, crucially, can that be measured? If it can, the project has likely succeeded, and is positioned to yield insights toward the next step in the technology journey.

The good news is that as digitization continues across the food and beverage industry, it creates a greater opportunity for brands, manufacturers and suppliers to move away from the antiquated model of static, linear supply chains, and toward a more interconnected future based both on shared data and shared values. Explore the world’s largest network of F&B brands and suppliers at TraceGains Gather™, and learn more about the growing community of committed safety professionals worldwide.

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Cybersecurity

Maintaining Data Security in Plant Operations

By Matthew Taylor, Tony Giles
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Cybersecurity

When it comes to cybersecurity, the food industry is facing more threats and risks than ever before, which is creating increased vulnerability in plant operations and the rest of the supply chain. Cyberattacks are focusing more and more on critical infrastructure, putting the food industry squarely in the crosshairs of cybercriminals.

Studies have shown that cybercriminals can penetrate 93% of company networks. One of the most serious threats is food tampering, with malware turning food itself into a weapon of terror. Cybercriminals can hack into food processing, transportation, and storage systems to spoil food and cause food poisoning and food shortages.

Ramping up protection costs both time and money, but making a preemptive investment in information security can save significant costs, considering that the median cost of a cyberattack increased from $10,000 to $18,000 in 2022, costing 40% of attack victims $25,000 or more.

Employees: Your First Line of Defense

The first and most crucial step in cybersecurity is employee training. When it comes to information breaches, two segments of a company can be impacted: the business and the operations. Impacts on the business could include leaking confidential client information, formulations, and recipes, among other data, while operations could include sensitive employee information.

As a company’s first line of defense, employees need to understand how important and integral their role is in data security. Phishing and malware are among the most popular forms of cyberattacks. By preying on individual employees, successful hackers can shut down production lines, reroute deliveries, and delay shipments.

Person using a computer
Phishing tests can be used to gauge employee skills in “real-life” scenarios and encourage vigilance.

Tools such as phishing tests can help gauge employee skills in “real-life” scenarios and help companies identify weaknesses across the organization. Employees who consistently fail phishing tests can be provided with additional training. Tests can also be coordinated on a recurring, random basis to keep employees alert and vigilant.

Food companies, especially those with plant operations, should also focus on physical security. Hackers will sometimes try their hand at breaching physical locations by “tailgating,” following an employee into a secured building without a badge. This type of attack incurs risks to data stored within the location and the products being manufactured. Just as with phishing simulations, it is important to educate employees about the risks of physical breaches, with reminders on how to prevent tailgating, lock computers, and safely store sensitive information.

Creating a Cybersecurity Toolkit

Building a strong culture of information security starts from the top down. Senior management must prioritize cybersecurity for employees to care about and understand its importance. Security professionals can work with senior leaders to identify the organization’s security starting point. If management makes information security a priority, that mentality trickles down to the entire organization.

This mentality can be communicated in training, team meetings, emails, and office posters. Some companies incentivize employees by providing free lunch or a day off for passing cybersecurity training and simulated tests.

Businesses can ramp up data security by implementing controls across the organization. Passwords should require a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters, as well as frequent updating. In combination with strong passwords, multi-factor authentication (MFA) can secure data even further. This extra layer of protection can stop a hacker who has breached the system from advancing to further applications.

Companies should also evaluate their software and hardware to determine if upgrades are needed. Legacy infrastructure can hamper an organization’s efforts to increase cybersecurity, as it often cannot be updated to meet current security needs. Patching assets is another area where companies can focus their efforts; unpatched assets are a popular way for hackers to breach systems.

When Incidents Do Occur

It is best practice to have a contingency plan in place for worst-case scenarios, such as a data breach or malware that shuts down operations. An incident response plan can be created with specific details included, such as whom to contact depending on the scenario, what systems must be shut down to reduce the reach of the incident, and what tools should be used to contact employees and stakeholders. By putting an incident response plan in place, operators can minimize the potential damage to systems and data. Employees should be trained on the plan. This help to increase response speed and minimize panic and confusion during real-life situations. Incident response plans should be updated at least annually.

Seek Third-Party Support

From providing security training to setting up off-site servers, there are numerous third parties that can help businesses to improve and strengthen their information security efforts. NSF-ISR’s basic security assessment and ISO 27001 certification provide a security framework to help businesses better manage their data and information. ISO 27001 is a globally recognized certification that defines requirements for creating and maintaining a cybersecurity management system and provides a comprehensive set of controls.

No matter what mode of action businesses take first to strengthen their information security, it is most important to simply get started. Operations are only going to become more digital, so when it comes to areas within the food industry where safety, the supply chain and confidential information can be impacted, cybersecurity is imperative.

Logos

FoodChain ID Acquires Lexagri

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Logos

FoodChain ID, a provider of technology-enabled food safety quality and sustainability solutions, has acquired Lexagri International, a company that focuses on verifying, harmonizing, structuring and distributing global agricultural data.

“Lexagri’s services are focused on data enhancement, and their data harmonization processes transform raw, untreated agricultural data into standardized, validated and accessible data sets,” said Brad Riemenapp, CEO of FoodChain ID. “This expands FoodChain ID’s scope of regulatory and compliance content into crop protection and brand registration data, allowing us to serve our food customers even more effectively and to strengthen our reputation as a trusted source of data-driven, actionable insights from farm to fork.”

Lexagri’s Homologa is the largest pesticide database in the market with over 33 million entries including Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) data, logistics data and Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs). The company’s PhytoScan mobile app offers an integrated label scanner for on-farm use that provides immediate access to up-to-date product regulatory and safety information to enhance compliance at the farm level.

Other products include Basagri and Phytodata, which are reference data sources for crop protection information in France that compare and contrast registered and certified data, and Agrowin, a service package for top tier chemical companies allowing them to analyze crop protection and seed market data providing access to harmonized and consolidated global agricultural market data.

“Lexagri’s aim has always been, and continues to be, to become the global harmonized reference provider of regulatory crop protection data for the industry, digital farming and the food chain,” said Fritz Schuster, CEO of Lexagri. “The upcoming integration of Lexagri with FoodChain ID will be another step in this direction. We will be able to enhance the link between ‘farm and fork’ through an easier data flow and more transparency.”

 

Steven Sklare, Food Safety Academy
FST Soapbox

What Is Your Company’s Level of Digital Risk Maturity?

By Steven Sklare
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Steven Sklare, Food Safety Academy

The digital transformation of food safety management programs is a common topic of discussion today, across the full range of media including print, blogs, websites and conferences. It has also been generally acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly accelerated the adoption of various digital technologies. However, let’s be clear, COVID-19 may have accelerated the process, but the process was under way as the only way for food companies to efficiently cope with the increase of required compliance documentation for regulatory bodies, such as FDA, USDA, etc., non-regulatory organizations such as GFSI, and customer specific requirements. COVID-19 has added a sense of urgency, as the fragility of both domestic and international supply chains has been exposed with long-term sources of ingredients or equipment being cut off overnight. We must also overlay the need to manage food safety risk and food fraud vulnerability in real time (or even predict the future, which will be discussed further in a future article). The food industry has also had to adjust to dealing with many aspects of work and production without typical face-to-face interaction—a norm of operating within the environment of a global pandemic over the past two years.

What is not clear, however, is the meaning of “digital transformation” or the “digitization” of a food safety management program. What is not clear is what these terms mean to individual organizations. The frenzy of buzzwords, “urgent” presentations, blogs and webinars help to create an improved level of awareness but rarely result in concrete actions that lead to improved results. I admit to being guilty of this very hyperbole—in a previous article discussing “Chocolate and Big Data”, I said, “If a food organization is going to effectively protect the public’s health, protect their brand and comply with various governmental regulations and non-governmental standards such as GFSI, horizon scanning, along with the use of food safety intelligent digital tools, needs to be incorporated into food company’s core FSQA program.” Sounds great, but it presupposes a high level of awareness of those “digital tools”. What is not clear to many organizations is how to get started and how to create a road map that leads to improved results, more efficient operations and importantly, to ongoing improvement in the production of safe food.

Addressing a new concept can be intimidating and paralyzing. Think back to the beginning days of HACCP, then TACCP, then VACCP, and post FSMA, preventive controls! So, where do we start?

Nikos Manouselis, CEO of Agroknow, a food safety data and intelligence company with a cloud-based risk intelligence platform, Foodakai, believes the place to start is for food companies to perform an honest, self-assessment of their digital risk maturity. Think of it as a digital risk maturity gap analysis. While there are certainly different approaches to performing this self-assessment, Agroknow has developed a simple, straightforward series of questions that focus on three critical areas: Risk monitoring practices and tools; risk assessment practices and tools; and risk prevention practices and tools. The questions within each of these areas lead to a ranking of 1–5 with 1 being a low level of maturity and 5 being a high level of maturity. One of the goals of the self-assessment is to determine where your company stands, right now, compared to where you want to be or should be.

While this is not a complete nor exhaustive process, it helps to break the inertia that could be holding a company back from starting the process of digitizing their food protection and quality systems, which will allow them to take advantage of the benefits available from continuous monitoring of food safety risks and food fraud vulnerabilities, artificial intelligence and predictive analytics.

FDA

FDA Seeks $57 Million in Investments in Food Safety Modernization and Funding to Reduce Chemicals in Food

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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FDA

Today the FDA announced its budget request as part of the President’s 2023 fiscal year budget. Within the food sector, the agency is asking for $43 million for food safety modernization (including animal food safety) oversight—which includes efforts in continued implementation of the New Era of Smarter Food Safety initiative. The funding will also go towards improving preventative food safety practices, data sharing, predictive analytics and traceability, which will help the agency respond to outbreaks and recalls faster. “In partnership with states, the FDA will expand efforts to modernize, harmonize and transform the U.S. animal food inspection system to become more comprehensive and prevention oriented,” the FDA stated in an email release.

The FDA also requested $14 million in funding to reduce exposure to harmful chemicals and toxins in food. Last year the agency came under fire following a report released by Congress that stated there was an alarming amount of toxic heavy metals found in baby food. In response, the FDA devised a “Closer to Zero” action plan with a goal of reducing the presence of dangerous metals in foods commonly consumed by babies and young children. “Additional funding and legislative proposals will focus specifically on better protecting mothers, infants and young children through contamination limits in food, product testing requirements, notification of anticipated significant interruptions in the supply of infant formula or essential medical foods, as well as modernization of dietary supplement regulation,” the FDA stated.

Under the FDA’s funding requests that serve its core operations, the agency asked for $68 million for data modernization and enhanced technologies, which includes improving infrastructure aligned to the food programs; and $24 million to optimize inspections, including increasing support for recruiting and training new FDA investigators.

The FY budget covers October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2023.

Emily Newton, Revolutionized Magazine
Retail Food Safety Forum

How Does Inventory Management Technology Improve Restaurants?

By Emily Newton
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Emily Newton, Revolutionized Magazine

Inventory management can be a challenge for restaurants. Stock often moves quickly, many ingredients have short shelf lives and limited storage space can make it easy to overlook some items. Manual tracking methods fall short of modern establishments’ needs, but technology offers an answer.

Inventory management software has made waves in warehousing and logistics, but the food and beverage industry can capitalize on it, too. Restaurants already recognize the need for tech adoption, with 100% of surveyed establishments increasing their urgency to adopt transformational technologies. Inventory tracking solutions should be part of that trend.

This article reviews how inventory management technology can improve restaurants.

Preventing Food Waste

One of the most important parts of inventory management is reducing waste. Up to 10% of food restaurants buy is thrown out before it ever reaches the consumer. Part of this comes from wasteful preparation practices, but much of it results from improper storage.

Inventory tracking technology addresses this issue by increasing stock visibility. In a traditional setup, restaurant employees may not be able to see what they have on hand, causing them to overlook items and leave them until they expire. Tracking technologies provide real-time data about everything in storage and consolidate it into a single, easily accessible window.

Many inventory software solutions include expiration date tracking, alerting workers when something is about to expire. They can use these technologies to find the product in question and use it before it goes bad. Trends over time can reveal if restaurants order too much of one item, driving managers to buy less to prevent waste-causing surpluses.

Avoiding Stock Shortages

Similarly, inventory management solutions can help avoid product shortages. Since the items restaurants order typically don’t go directly to the consumer, it can be difficult to understand stock levels in real-time. The visibility inventory tracking systems provide counteracts that.

Inventory software solutions can maintain real-time inventory data and alert managers when levels get low. They can then order more of a product before they run out, maintaining higher customer satisfaction. Perhaps more importantly, as restaurants use these systems over time, they can highlight seasonal trends to create more accurate forecasts.

Inventory trends will reveal how items grow and shrink in demand at various times of the year. Restaurants can then plan to order more or less of those products at different times according to those trends, avoiding shortages from under-ordering in-demand items.

Consolidating Multiple Sales Channels

Selling through multiple channels can make it more difficult to track inventory levels. Restaurants may use separate systems to manage online and in-person sales, which can lead to confusion and miscommunication.

Inventory management solutions can track online and retail sales together through a single platform. That way, restaurants have a consolidated view of all sales and history, eliminating the miscommunication that arises with traditional methods. Establishments that use a single system for all channels won’t accidentally sell out-of-stock items.

This consolidation also helps refine seasonal adjustments. Online sales trends fluctuate just as they do in person, but there may be some differences. Managers that look at seasonal trends across both channels can adjust their ordering schedules more accurately, further preventing stock shortages.

Highlighting Potential Issues

Restaurants can also use these technologies to review trends over time and highlight persistent issues. Inventory software may reveal that an establishment consistently loses one product because it passes its expiration date. This suggests that it orders too much of it at once, so it can start buying less to adapt.

Similarly, trends can reveal if something is wrong with the restaurant’s storage solution itself. Data could show if ingredients in one refrigerator consistently expire despite accurate ordering figures, suggesting the fridge fails to maintain a safe temperature. These situations are likely and deserve attention, considering that foodborne diseases cause 48 million illnesses a year, according to CDC estimates.

The longer restaurants use these technologies, the more data they’ll have, generating a growing information pool can then inform increasingly precise and reliable forecasts and mitigation strategies.

Calculating Accurate Profit Margins

Another overlooked benefit of inventory management technology is its utility as a financial planning tool. As much as 75% of restaurants struggle financially due to food costs. They may not be able to control ingredient prices, but they can manage them better with accurate inventory data.

Food prices fluctuate rapidly, leading to uneven profit margins. Restaurants that don’t have a granular picture of how their inventory moves won’t be able to calculate their profit margins accurately. Inventory management solutions provide a more granular look into stock levels and offer the context managers need for these calculations.

Inventory tracking technology allows restaurants to view stock movements weekly or even daily to compare with fluctuating prices. This specificity will help get a more accurate picture of expenses and profits.

Inventory Management Tech is Essential

Restaurants must become more financially agile to stay afloat amid widespread disruptions. Inventory management systems offer the insight and control they need to refine their processes, enabling that flexibility, and helping them adapt to incoming changes to ensure future success.

Eric Weisbrod, InfinityQS
FST Soapbox

Quality in the Cloud: 5 Tools to Remedy Food Safety Fears

By Eric Weisbrod
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Eric Weisbrod, InfinityQS

The food and beverage industry has seen a big push for digital transformation over the past several years. Consumers and regulators alike are demanding increasingly high levels of safety and traceability across the global supply chain—driving food manufacturers to modernize their approach to quality control.

Now, many are looking to retire outdated software or inefficient paper-based systems that limit visibility across their production lines, plants and supply chains. They are exploring modern tools that enable proactive quality and safety monitoring. And fortunately, cloud technology is making this shift easier than ever.

Cloud-based quality management solutions offer simple deployment, rapid scalability and low up-front costs—breaking down many of the barriers to digital transformation. Food manufacturers gain anytime, anywhere access to critical resources needed to maintain product quality, ensure compliance and drive continuous improvement across their organizations.

To make it all possible, food manufacturers should select a cloud-based solution that offers the following features and tools.

1. A centralized data repository for improved visibility, compliance and collaboration

In a traditional manufacturing environment, quality and process data are locked away in paper files, Excel spreadsheets, or on-premises software. These data silos prevent manufacturers from monitoring enterprise-wide quality performance, and inhibit data sharing with external parties across the supply chain.

But the cloud can break down those silos. Cloud solutions provide a single, unified data repository where food manufacturers can standardize and centralize quality data—from all processes, production lines, and sites in their enterprise, as well as from suppliers, co-packers and third-party producers.

The resulting “big picture” view of quality enables food companies to:

  • Perform enterprise-wide analyses to pinpoint problem areas, identify best practices, and prioritize resources—ultimately improving quality and compliance across the entire organization.
  • Verify ongoing regulatory compliance and enforce accountability for all required checks and tests.
  • View supplier data in real time to prevent food safety issues and ensure incoming ingredients meet quality standards before they are ever shipped. Only the highest-quality ingredients get accepted and incorporated into products.
  • Monitor supplier performance to better manage suppliers and prevent supply chain disruptions.
  • Collaborate with contract manufacturers and packers to make sure they uphold quality standards and protect the brand.

2. Real-time SPC for proactive response on the plant floor

A preventative approach to quality and safety just isn’t possible when using manual methods for data collection and analysis. Operators spend valuable time recording data with a pencil and paper, then sift through page after page of control charts—on top of all their other daily responsibilities. It’s easy to see how mistakes could be made and production issues could be missed.

Quality teams are also at a disadvantage, reviewing old data about products that have already come off the production line. Overall, everyone operates in “firefighting” mode. They try to fix one issue after another, but it’s often already too late. Some problems may not be spotted until final inspection, if even caught at all. Manufacturers end up dealing with defective products, wasted resources, and damaging recalls.

The cloud transforms how food manufacturers collect and analyze quality data. Cloud-based statistical process control (SPC) software can automatically collect measurement values from a variety of data sources, then monitor processes in real time. When the software detects specification or statistical violations, automated alarms instantly alert key personnel. The appropriate teams can take immediate action to correct any issue before it gets out of hand.

In addition, food manufacturers can put up further safeguards on the plant floor with “workflows.” Essentially, these are prescriptive guides for responding to quality issues, predefined in the cloud-based quality solution. They help all employees respond consistently and effectively to specific problems, and then document the corrective actions taken. These responses can then be analyzed across an entire company, allowing manufacturers to spot trends and prevent reoccurring issues.

Ultimately, operators and quality personnel can stay on top of potential problems and prevent unsafe or defective goods from reaching customers—without having to manually monitor every line, in every plant, around the clock.

3. Timed data collections to keep everyone on the same page

Routine sampling and quality checks are critical for food safety and compliance with regulatory and industry-specific standards. But how can manufacturers ensure required checks are completed according to schedule? After all, the plant floor is a busy place and where it’s easy for operators to get sidetracked tackling other issues.

Here, cloud-based quality systems can help. These solutions enable manufacturers to set up timed data collections, which send automated notifications to remind operators when it’s time to perform HACCP, CCP, and other critical quality and safety checks. Operators can stay focused on production, without having to watch the clock or worry about missing a check. Plant supervisors also get alerts if a data collection is missed—no matter where they are working—so they can keep everyone on top of compliance.

4. Digital reporting to make audits a breeze

Every manufacturer dreads the auditing process. It is time consuming and resource intensive, adding another layer of stress and complexity to the already complex nature of food production. Those that rely on paper records and spreadsheets usually struggle to piece together and produce auditor-requested information. And failed audits can have major consequences.

Instead, quality records and other compliance documentation can be digitized, stored and made quickly accessible via the cloud. This makes it easy for food companies to pull historical data for specific timeframes. Reports can be produced in just minutes to complete regulatory, third-party certification, or internal audits—rather than the days or weeks it would typically take to put together a report from a complicated trail of paper.

5. Lot genealogy for improved traceability and recall response

Recalls are another big source of stress for food manufacturers. After all, food quality or safety incidents that result in a recall not only hurt profits and brand reputation, but also put the health and lives of consumers at risk. Fortunately, recalls can be mitigated or avoided through better traceability.

Cloud-based quality solutions can help food companies trace raw ingredient lot codes through the manufacturing process and supply chain. With all quality data stored in that centralized cloud repository mentioned earlier, manufacturers can generate genealogical “trees” showing the relationship between incoming ingredients and outgoing products.

This information in critical for preventing and responding to product recalls. If a safety issue is found within a specific ingredient lot, for example, manufacturers can quickly identify output lots where those ingredients were used. They can prevent those finished lots from being released, or in the worst-case scenario, remove those lots from store shelves in a swift, targeted recall.

A Tactical Approach to Digital Transformation

Looking at the FDA’s New Era of Smarter Food Safety blueprint, it’s clear to see that the industry at large is heading towards a new digital age. Food manufacturers shouldn’t wait to take the first steps, and cloud-based quality can get them on the right path.

While any big change comes with hesitancy, a tactical approach can help ease any fears. Some food manufacturers have started with small-scale projects, deploying cloud-based quality solution to monitor a single process or production line. Leadership teams and employees alike can see how quality in the cloud benefits everyone at all levels of their organization—and then deploy the solution on a wider scale. It is a great way to successfully introduce new digital technology and lay the foundation for future transformation.

CDC, FDA, USDA logos

IFSAC to Continue Focus on Finding Sources of Foodborne Illnesses

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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CDC, FDA, USDA logos

The Interagency Food Safety Analytics Collaboration (IFSAC) has published its 2022–2023 Interim Strategic Plan, placing continued emphasis on foodborne illness source attribution for Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes and Campylobacter. Over the next year, IFSAC will address several short-term goals surrounding improvement of methods to evaluate and identify foodborne illness source attribution through the use of outbreak and non-outbreak-associated disease data, and continued collaboration with external partners in an effort to boost data access and capabilities. The group will be targeting several efforts in the coming year, including:

  • Analysis of trends related to foodborne disease outbreak-associated illnesses over the past two decades, with a subsequent peer-reviewed journal article that reveals results.
  • Development and improvement of machine-learning methods used to predict food sources of illnesses that have an unknown source. WGS will be used to compare Salmonella isolates of known and unknown sources.
  • Collaboration with FoodNet when assessing key food sources for sporadic Salmonella Enteritidis and Campylobacter illnesses. The group will develop case-control studies using specific FoodNet data.

Formed in 2011, IFSAC is a partnership between FDA, FSIS and the CDC that seeks to strengthen federal interagency efforts and maximize use of food safety data collection, analysis and use. During 2022–2023, IFSAC will publish its yearly reports on foodborne illness source attribution for the previously mentioned priority pathogens.

FDA

FDA Publishes Public Dashboard from Reportable Food Registry for Easier Analysis of Agency Data

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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FDA

FDA has published an interactive Reportable Food Registry (RFR) Data Dashboard to provide faster access to better data about hazards and dangerous food products. Called FDA-TRACK, the new RFR will be published annually, and contains 10 years of data (from September 2009–2019), encompassing 28 commodities and 20 food safety hazards. Users can interact with data points in an effort to obtain customized information. They can also change the graphs and charts, and view trends based on commodities, hazards and time frames.

The interactive dashboard provides more “access and transparency with state and local partners who use the data to better [their] workplan and determine how to target their own sampling assignments to concerns that are more common in their area, allows industry to educate themselves on trends and identify areas were additional good manufacturing practices and preventive controls could better prevent future outbreaks or contamination in their products; and offers a robust data set to researchers and others who are interested in studying the safety of our food system,” according to a CFSAN update.

The RFR was established by Congress to help FDA more effectively track patterns of food and feed adulteration. “Overall, this will be a more efficient, less resource-intensive process for FDA to provide data,” the agency stated.

When a company uncovers a food product that is hazardous, it must submit an RFR to the FDA using the electronic portal. This year the agency will launch a project that allows companies to export RFR data from their own business systems or from third party applications directly into the portal.

Neogen, 3M

3M Combines Food Safety Business with Neogen, Creates $9.3 Billion Company

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Neogen, 3M

Today 3M and Neogen announced a definitive agreement that will combine 3M’s food safety business with Neogen to create a company worth $9.3 billion. “This combination will enhance Neogen’s position in this new era of food security, equipping us with an expanded product line that enables us to capitalize on our growing footprint, reaching more customers, more often, while continuing our track record of strong and consistent growth,” said John Adent, president and CEO of Neogen in a press release. “The heightened global focus on food security, sustainability and supply chain solutions around the world presents exciting opportunities for Neogen to be positioned as an innovative leader at the forefront of the growth and digitization of the industry. We’re excited to welcome 3M’s Food Safety employees to the Neogen team, and we’re looking forward to demonstrating the immense benefits of this combination to our customers, employees and shareholders.” Its financial strength will also give the company the ability to further invest in R&D capabilities, innovation and data-driven analytics.

The combined company will be led by Adent and Neogen’s current management team. The company’s board will increase by two independent members as designated by 3M at closing. Subject to approval by Neogen shareholders and regulatory approvals, the transaction is anticipated to close by the end of Q3 2022.