Tag Archives: Supply Chain

Prasant Prusty and Arundhathy Shabu

Know Your Supplier for Better Ingredient Hazard Control and Risk Mitigation

By Arundhathy Shabu, Prasant Prusty
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Prasant Prusty and Arundhathy Shabu

In 2022, more than 80% of businesses encountered at least one major supply chain disruption, while half experienced three or more, and supply chain disruption is anticipated to continue. Supplier management systems are instrumental in minimizing the frequency of disruptions through proactive risk assessment, streamlined communication and robust contingency planning, allowing organizations to maintain operational resilience and continuity in the face of unforeseen challenges. One of the key components of a supplier management system is the supplier qualification program.

A supplier qualification program helps ensure that suppliers adhere to stringent standards and criteria, effectively controlling hazards and mitigating risks tied to subpar product quality, unreliable deliveries and lack of regulatory compliance. These programs foster consistency, reliability and excellence across the entire supply chain by meticulously evaluating and approving suppliers. In this article, we look at some prominent challenges in setting up supplier qualification systems, key facets of supplier management and the future of modern procurement.

Current Challenges in Supplier Qualification Models

In today’s rapidly progressing world, industries operate within a globalized framework, intertwining trade and technology to produce an unprecedented level of connectivity and interdependence that transcends geographical limitations through a harmonious exchange of goods, services and ideas across borders. This global network, however, poses challenges to food processors and distributors, as it requires them to identify and track large numbers of suppliers from greater distances. As a result, there is a new imperative for industries to be able to qualify suppliers that align with their supplier qualification goals on a global scale.

Following are some of the key considerations and challenges facing food companies:

Supply Chain Disruptions. Factors such as natural disasters, global pandemics and escalation of geopolitical tensions may lead to restricted access to vital materials or the closure of significant trade routes, resulting in supply chain disruptions that create limitations, making it difficult to evaluate the credibility of the suppliers.

Supplier Diversity. Supplier diversity refers to actively engaging suppliers owned and operated by individuals from underrepresented groups, such as women, minorities, veterans and individuals with disabilities, with the goal of promoting economic opportunities and cultivating inclusivity in the supply chain. It can present challenges for the supplier qualification process due to the limited pool of qualified diverse suppliers, competitive pricing, bias or skepticism, and equal support for all suppliers.

Regulatory Compliance. Organizations must navigate a complex terrain of regulations and standards that differ across industries and regions to achieve regulatory compliance within supplier qualification models. Compliance obligations encompass various areas, including labor practices, environmental regulations, data privacy and product safety. The continuous challenge lies in adapting qualification models that encompass evolving compliance standards and diligently observing supplier compliance on an ongoing basis.

Supplier Information. The multiple challenges related to supplier data management include the use of different technologies, procedural variations, employee training gaps in handling supplier information, monitoring difficulties, communication limitations and averting risks, such as intellectual property infringement and regulatory and legal compliance issues. Supply managers confront the dual challenge of meeting the growing demand for sharing sensitive data while protecting that data and ensuring a secure system for managing and updating supplier information.

Optimizing Supplier Performance. Once suppliers are qualified, supplier performance management is necessary to ensure compliance and maintain quality standards. There is often a lack of standardization in how suppliers are evaluated, making it tedious to define appropriate performance metrics, collect relevant data and consistently analyze supplier performance. This also makes it challenging to enable objective evaluation, facilitate ongoing supplier supervision and identify which suppliers are underperforming.

Communication & Collaboration. Effective communication is a reciprocal process that requires regular contact and engagement with suppliers at every project stage. Procurement professionals often overlook the importance of building strong supplier relationships and encouraging open lines of communication, which is essential for cultivating sustainable and successful supplier qualification models.

Data Management & Visibility. Controlling data use and distribution becomes challenging when information is dispersed across multiple supplier locations or sub-tiers of the supply base. Consequently, accessing and maintaining a single source of truth regarding supplier information, along with data accuracy, integrity and security is an important, though complex, need.

Scalability. For companies operating in varied markets and dealing with a large number of suppliers, the scalability of their suppliers is critical. A supplier who cannot scale production in response to the buyer’s production cycles and maintain corresponding quality control measures can become a challenge for the buyer.

The Key Elements of Supplier Pre-Qualification

Supplier pre-qualification is a formal process of pre-screening and assessing potential suppliers against a predetermined set of criteria to ensure they have the baseline qualifications to provide a service or product before being accepted as a customer’s supplier and initiating procurement procedures. Only suppliers who meet established criteria are invited to tender. The process also helps in evaluating financial stability, mitigating supply chain risks, keeping an eye on environmental credentials, ensuring sustainability practices and complying with diverse regulations and quality standards.

To adequately pre-qualify a supplier, buyers must consider the following:

Supplier Evaluation Criteria. Organizations must establish benchmarks or specific requirements that suppliers must meet to qualify for participation. These criteria can vary depending on the nature of the procurement, but they commonly include factors such as experience, technical capabilities, financial resources, legal compliance, quality management systems and past performance.

Supplier Documentation and Information. Suppliers must submit documentation and information that provide evidence of their qualifications. These may include company profiles, financial statements, licenses and certifications, regulatory documents, references, product samples and other relevant information demonstrating their ability to meet the organization’s needs.

Supplier Auditing. Submitted documentation and information should be reviewed through supplier auditing as part of pre-assessment or continuous evaluation procedures to assess the suitability of each supplier. This evaluation may involve a review of financial records, conducting site visits, interviewing key personnel and analyzing past performance records. The goal is to gather as much information as possible to determine the supplier’s capabilities, trustworthiness and overall suitability for the procurement.

Risk Assessment. As part of the pre-qualification process, organizations often conduct risk assessments to evaluate the potential risks of engaging each supplier. This assessment may consider factors such as financial risks, legal compliance risks, operational risks and reputational risks. The purpose is to identify and mitigate potential risks of working with a particular supplier.

Supplier Onboarding. Based on the evaluation, the organization shortlists suppliers that meet the predetermined criteria and have demonstrated the necessary capabilities. These suppliers are considered eligible to participate in the subsequent procurement process and are onboarded.

Emergency Supplier Approval. There must be a provision to address and handle emergency supplier qualification in situations where there is the absence of an established supplier approval process. This step should propose workaround measures or solutions that can be implemented to minimize or mitigate risks and manage critical supply requirements.

Supplier Performance Monitoring. The pre-qualification process may also involve monitoring the performance of existing suppliers to ensure they continue to meet the organization’s requirements and standards. This ongoing evaluation helps maintain a pool of qualified and reputable suppliers for future procurement needs.

How Tech-Enabled Solutions Optimize Supplier Management

As the age of modern procurement practices commences, tech-enabled supplier management solutions and digital software will play an increasingly pivotal part in supplier qualification systems. Supplier pre-qualification and performance assessment through digital processes and forms offer numerous advantages to businesses, including:

Efficiency and Time Savings. By automating manual tasks such as documentation collection, verification and approval, the entire supplier management process, from onboarding to continuous monitoring of suppliers, can be simplified and expedited. Digital features such as supplier performance tracking, compliance monitoring and alerts for contract renewals or expirations drive business continuity. It further streamlines organizing and analyzing supplier data, lowering administrative burdens related to paperwork collection, enabling faster decision-making and helping to nurture a culture of safety with significant cost benefits as well.

Enhanced Data Accuracy. Digitizing supplier qualification models can help organizations maintain more reliable supplier information and reduce the risk of incorrect or outdated data by minimizing human error and ensuring accurate and consistent data entry. Implementing stable data management systems and technologies, such as supplier management software, can also aid in identifying and managing supplier risks through early identification of issues and timely mitigation to minimize supply chain disruptions.

Centralized Data Repository. Digital supplier management tools offer a centralized repository to store all supplier-related information, such as qualification documents, certifications, performance metrics and contracts. This allows for easy access, retrieval and sharing of information across departments or teams, fostering collaboration and eliminating data silos. Data centralization can also provide comprehensive data analytics and reporting.

Streamlined Qualification Process. Standardized workflows and pre-defined criteria brought about by digital tools for supplier qualification enable a more structured and efficient process. They often include automated screening mechanisms, such as compliance checks and risk assessments, which help evaluate suppliers against specific requirements and filter out unqualified candidates.

Supplier Visibility through Trend Analysis. Tech-enabled solutions often encompass reporting and analytics capabilities that enable stakeholders to acquire valuable insights into supplier performance, cost structures and trends by tracking and reviewing key performance indicators (KPIs) based on predefined metrics. Organizations can leverage this data to identify opportunities for cost savings, process improvements and strategic sourcing decisions. This results in real-time visibility into supplier performance, capabilities and compliance status, based on precise and up-to-date information.

Supplier Collaboration and Engagement. Some tech-enabled solutions help secure supplier communication channels and provide real-time collaborative platforms, which promote transparency and accountability in supplier-procurer relationships. These may include features such as supplier portals or online platforms that enable document sharing, bid submissions and performance feedback, fostering better engagement and long-term relationships.

Future Advances in Supplier Management

Looking ahead, digital solutions for supplier management are poised to transform the supplier-procurement paradigm for businesses. By utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, the supplier management process will become more efficient, reducing validation steps and communication requirements, and encouraging greater supplier participation. AI’s data-gathering capabilities and predictive modeling can accurately predict foodborne illness outbreaks that may occur by analyzing supplier data from various sources including environmental factors, ingredient quality and contamination history.

Similarly, Internet of Things (IoT)  data allows companies to monitor and optimize the movement of goods and services throughout the supply chain, establishing better traceability in the procurement process. With blockchain, companies can effortlessly verify supply chain integrity and product authenticity without human intervention, which further refines supplier auditability, addressing the complexities and delays in information flow between intermediaries and suppliers.

The integration of these state-of-the-art technologies will propel increasingly accurate and dynamic supplier management software, bringing forth a safer food supply chain for the future.

Prasant Prusty and Arundhathy Shabu

Food Safety Culture Is the Key Ingredient To Prevent Foodborne Diseases

By Arundhathy Shabu, Prasant Prusty
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Prasant Prusty and Arundhathy Shabu

Culture is not an initiative but rather the enabler of all initiatives, as observed rightly by Larry Senn, who is considered the Father of Corporate Culture.  Similarly, food safety culture (FSC) is the solid foundation that enables organizations to ultimately minimize food safety risks. This is why the simple idea of food safety culture emerges to be a powerful concept in reducing the global burden of foodborne diseases.

Let us consider some facts:

  • Employees working in food enterprises worldwide are required to be well-trained in food safety practices
  • A vast amount of food safety research is conducted around the world to improve and enhance food safety management
  • Companies are required to follow elaborate food safety regulations that include mandatory testing and inspections

It is quite contradictory that food safety remains a major public health threat. One way to understand why this happens is that just because something has been done in a specified manner for a long duration does not necessarily mean it is being done the right way. Hence, there must be a missing ingredient fundamental to preventing food safety incidents, which many have concluded relates to lack of a strong food safety culture.

The Importance of Food Safety Culture in Simple Terms

The behavior of your staff and leadership demonstrates whether each employee understands and is committed to ensuring your products are safe to consume and of good quality. In short, food safety equals behavior. This is the core notion Frank Yiannas talks about in his book, Food Safety Culture: Creating a Behavior-Based Food Safety Management System.

One of the most well-known outcomes associated with lack of a strong food safety culture was the PCA (Peanut Corporation of America) outbreak in 2009 when peanuts contaminated with Salmonella caused nine deaths, 11,000 to 20,000 illnesses, and a recall of 4,000 products. A proactive food safety culture that is centered on rigorous testing, quality control protocols, sanitation and traceability measures could have detected and prevented the spread outbreak, saving lives and money.

Companies are investigating and/or implementing food safety culture training and practices because no matter what we say or document regarding food safety, we cannot make progress unless we actually put these words into practice.

A systematic review of the scientific literature on food safety culture (FSC), published by the FDA in 2022 views food safety culture as a scientific concept. In conducting the study, FDA aspired to present food safety culture as a valid subset of science, rather than just a slogan, and use the knowledge obtained to provide tools that stakeholders can use to develop and assess their own food safety culture. This review is considered the primary groundwork for FDA’s efforts to uplift food safety culture in the industry, among consumers, and in regard to the present regulatory oversight.

Challenges and Barriers to Accomplishing a Strong and Effective Food Safety Culture 

The predominant challenges and barriers to creating, promoting and evaluating a strong and effective Food Safety Culture, as presented in the review, include:

Over-reliance on food safety management systems (FSMS)

FSMS plays a non-negotiable role in every food enterprise. Nevertheless, FSMS tend to be process focused and thus do not affect how human attitudes influence food safety. This is where a behavior-based FSMS is beneficial to forge a well-built FSC, as it offers a total system approach based on scientific knowledge of human behavior, organizational culture, and food safety.

Prioritization of cost-saving and money-earning

A profit-focused mentality is often the main barrier to implementing a positive FSC. Compromising food safety principles to save costs is never a good strategy. It can even be counter-productive as a negative FSC can eventually lead to a food safety incident, generating tremendous economic losses for the organization. An ideal FSC ensures that an obligation to food safety exists throughout the firm that outweighs all other company goals and practices.

Frequent staff turnover

Continuous staff turnover is a common phenomenon in the food sector. High staff turnover requires constant training and supervision to ensure employees’ understand the risks and other essential criteria needed for an adequate food safety climate. It also is challenging to ascertain the commitment and accountability of employees with temporary contracts.

Optimistic bias

Though it is said ‘experience is the best teacher, and the worst experiences teach the best lessons,’ it is always better for employees to realize that they are not immune to food contamination before experiencing a vulnerability to food safety. Every member of a food enterprise should know that they cannot afford optimism bias in terms of food safety, and that it is imperative to be prepared—and on the look out for—worst case scenarios.

How Digitalization Can Assist in Developing and Sustaining a Solid Food Safety Culture

Ideally, a commitment to food safety begins with management and permeates through the organization at all levels. Digital tools, particularly those used to manage the supply chain, can help. By establishing a network platform that integrates the online and offline worlds, digitalization connects all facets of the food production and processing chain. Let us break down how digital tools can be implemented throughout the food industry to enhance supply chain processes while nurturing a strong food safety culture.

1. Setting Expectations 

Digital tools allow for the efficient creation, distribution and maintenance of food safety policies, procedures and protocols. By utilizing digital systems, organizations can document and disseminate clear expectations regarding food safety practices. This includes defining standard operating procedures (SOPs), hygiene protocols and compliance guidelines. These digital resources can be easily accessed by employees, ensuring that everyone is aware of the established standards and expectations.

2. Communication & Training 

The next step is to properly communicate the established strategies among the employees and enforce them. This is where learning management systems and digital employee training platforms come in handy, as they engage and educate employees by conveying information and instructions related to various aspects of the organization. These tech-enabled solutions can also play a vital role in authorizing employees to collaborate via more efficient communication channels, address food safety compliance concerns and initiate appropriate corrective and preventive actions when necessary.

These tools allow companies to create training programs that utilize interactive modules, visual content, videos and quizzes to enhance employee learning and retention, while accommodating diverse learning styles such as flexible self-paced or group training. The training courses can be scheduled and assigned to individuals or groups according to the configured training types. Alerts and notifications can be promptly delivered to relevant personnel to inform them about critical updates and send reminders regarding their training courses. They also help companies track and manage training assignments, ensuring that employees complete required training within specified timeframes. Overall, they empower organizations to propagate information efficiently, advance knowledge transfer and ensure compliance with training requirements, thereby fostering a well-informed and competent workforce.

3. Monitoring 

Scheduling features of tech-enabled solutions offer a valuable means to successfully plan and monitor regular inspections, maintenance tasks and quality checks. Digital task assignment empowers employees to be accountable, confirm that responsibilities are clearly communicated, eliminate ambiguities in executing food business operations and track the progress and completion of each process, elevating the overall transparency of the supply chain process.

Notifications can be automatically generated to alert employees about upcoming inspections or any deviations from standard procedures. It is also possible to maintain an audit log, capturing and storing a detailed record of all food industry activities, actions and events. Another component that can be advantageous for monitoring efforts is a change log, which becomes useful for tracking modifications made to procedures, allowing for traceability, accountability and assistance with regulatory compliance efforts.

4. Reporting 

Digital tools typically include robust dashboards that can provide real-time insights into the supply chain. These intuitive interfaces can display data such as key metrics, compliance rates, inspection results, incident reports and corrective actions taken. Moreover, advanced filtering and drill-down capabilities enable users to delve deeper into specific data segments, facilitating in-depth analysis and comprehensive reporting.

Trend analysis tools can be employed to identify patterns and highlight areas that require further attention. They often incorporate predictive analytics and forecasting models, aiding businesses in predicting demand, optimizing inventory management and reducing waste. Furthermore, employee key performance indicators (KPIs) can be accessed through reporting mechanisms, and trend analysis features, which allows management to gauge employee contributions in upholding a food safety culture.

Tech-savvy solutions, such as food safety management software, are gaining significant traction in the market as they help food enterprises streamline their operations, optimize efficiency, promote transparency and accountability, and ensure compliance with food safety and quality regulations. All of which ultimately serve to instill a responsibility for food safety throughout your organization.

Francine Shaw
FST Soapbox

Unlocking the Promise of IoT in Food Safety and Transparency

By Francine L. Shaw
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Francine Shaw

In today’s fast-paced world, ensuring food safety and efficiency is crucial for food businesses. Fortunately, technological advancements, including the Internet of Things (IoT), have revolutionized the way the food industry operates. By leveraging IoT, food businesses can drive efficiency, enhance food safety, mitigate risks and boost transparency throughout the supply chain. All food businesses should be embracing IoT innovations to optimize their operations, improve efficiency, maximize safety and drive key performance indicators (KPIs), including consumer satisfaction, loyalty and sales.

The benefits of using IoT in the food industry include:

  • Enhancing food safety. IoT enables real-time tracking and monitoring of food products throughout the supply chain. With the help of connected sensors and devices, businesses can monitor crucial variables including temperature and humidity to ensure optimal storage conditions. Both companies and consumers benefit from this heightened level of food safety and quality assurance.
  • Improving supply chain transparency. IoT enhances end-to-end visibility and traceability. By employing sensors and radiofrequency identification (RFID) tags, businesses can track the movement of food products all along the supply chain, from farm to fork. This transparency helps identify the origin of any issues or recalls, significantly reducing the impact on public health. Moreover, it enables quicker and more targeted responses to any potential food safety breaches, mitigating risks, preventing foodborne illness outbreaks and ensuring consumer trust in the food supply chain.
  • Optimizing shelf life for product inventory. IoT devices collect data on product conditions, such as temperature, humidity and light exposure. This information empowers businesses to optimize inventory management, implement dynamic pricing strategies and reduce waste (and associated costs) by ensuring products are sold or consumed before expiration. By minimizing food waste, companies contribute to sustainability efforts and consumers benefit from fresher and safer products.
  • Upgrading real-time monitoring and predictive analytics. IoT devices provide real-time data on critical factors, including equipment performance, energy consumption and production processes. Businesses can detect patterns and predict potential issues by leveraging advanced analytics and machine learning algorithms. By identifying risks in advance, companies can proactively address them, preventing downtime and improving overall operational efficiency.
  • Elevating the customer experience. IoT can also improve the customer experience. Smart shelves equipped with sensors, for example, can offer personalized recommendations, nutritional information and/or recipe suggestions based on customer preferences. Connected devices in restaurants or food delivery services can streamline the ordering process, improve order accuracy and provide real-time status updates, making the customer journey smoother and more convenient.

It’s clear that IoT offers significant benefits for food companies. Following are five important considerations as you investigate these innovative solutions:

  1. Assess your organization’s specific needs. Identify areas of your food business that can benefit from IoT technology. Consider cold chain management, quality control, inventory management and any other aspect of operations or supply chain that can be optimized. Define the specific goals you want to achieve through IoT implementation.
  2. Choose reliable technology. Select IoT devices and solutions that are reliable, scalable and aligned with your business requirements. Prioritize factors such as data security, interoperability, ease of integration and ongoing support. Ensure that the technology you choose meets industry standards and regulations. Work only with trusted tech vendors.
  3. Examine your data management and analytics processes. Develop a robust data management strategy to collect, store and analyze the vast amounts of data that will be generated by the IoT devices. Employ analytics tools to derive actionable insights from the data, and use these insights to make more informed decisions.
  4. Collaborate with the right partners. Explore partnerships with technology providers, industry associations and regulatory bodies to stay updated on emerging standards, best practices and compliance requirements related to IoT technologies in the food industry. Collaborating with experts and industry peers can accelerate your IoT implementation journey.
  5. Prioritize data security. Implement robust security measures to protect your IoT devices and the data they collect. This includes network security, encryption, authentication protocols and regular monitoring for potential vulnerabilities. Safeguarding data privacy and complying with regulations is vital in maintaining trust with customers and partners.

Avoiding IoT-driven technologies in the food industry is no longer an option. These devices have become necessary to drive efficiency, enhance food safety, meet regulatory requirements and consumers’ evolving expectations, and stay competitive. By leveraging IoT solutions, businesses can optimize their processes, improve transparency, reduce waste and provide exceptional customer experiences. However, successful implementation requires a strategic approach, careful planning, ongoing monitoring and continuous improvement. By prioritizing food safety and communication, and identifying areas of greatest need for improvement, the food industry can unlock the full potential of IoT technology and pave the way for a safer future.

 

 

Laura Dunn Nelson, Intertek Alchemy

Navigating Food Industry Challenges Requires a Comprehensive Crisis Management Plan

By Laura Dunn Nelson
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Laura Dunn Nelson, Intertek Alchemy

The food industry has faced numerous challenges in recent years that have disrupted its stability and normal operations. While it might feel like the industry is finally starting to stabilize, there is still a long way to go to achieve a steady new normal. The industry remains extremely vulnerable to inflation pressures, product shortages, cyberattacks and food fraud. Any one of these risks can send a manufacturer or restaurant scrambling to replace missing ingredients or supplies and resume operations.

In today’s unpredictable landscape, crisis management plans are essential for reducing downtime, safeguarding food quality and maintaining customer trust. These plans help establish backup suppliers in times of supply chain disruptions and bolster defenses against cyberattacks and food fraud. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach, developing a customized crisis management plan tailored to your specific production risks is crucial. Below are some insights into using a crisis management plan to tackle common threats faced by food manufacturers and restaurants.

Vendor Management: Ensuring Continuity

Vendors play a key role in the food industry, and their vulnerabilities can directly impact your food safety and quality. Ingredient shortages and price fluctuations create supply chain disruptions that must be managed through proactive measures.

Including a vendor replacement strategy in the crisis management plan enables quick adaptation to unforeseen circumstances. This strategy should encompass multiple sourcing options, rigorous vendor audits, effective communication channels, comprehensive product specifications and efficient change management processes.

Detecting and Preventing Food Fraud

When supply chains are disrupted, food fraud becomes a serious concern. Counterfeiting, dilution, substitution and mislabeling pose risks to both food quality and safety. To combat food fraud effectively, it’s important to vet suppliers to ensure they provide the correct ingredients and adhere to quality standards.

Integrating your supplier selection processes into the crisis management plan will help ensure consistency as you vet new suppliers. Additionally, frontline employees should receive training to detect food fraud. This includes training that enables them to identify abnormalities in raw materials, manufacturing processes and finished goods.

Risk management is not solely the responsibility of leadership. To effectively combat food fraud, it needs to be part of your frontline worker food safety training program.

Safeguarding Against Cyber Threats

With increasing reliance on technology, the food industry has become more vulnerable than ever to cyber threats. Last year, the U.S. cybersecurity company Dragos identified the food and beverage sector as the second largest victim of cyberattacks, making it imperative to prioritize cybersecurity measures.

While robust security platforms and backup systems are important, the most effective defense lies in having an informed workforce trained to identify and prevent potential attacks. It’s critical to ensure your crisis management plan includes preventative measures such as educating employees on recognizing suspicious emails, updating passwords regularly and avoiding risky online behavior.

Transparent Communication Builds Trust

When changes occur in suppliers, products or ingredients, transparent communication with your customers is vital. The crisis management plan should lay out clear guidelines for informing customers on important updates, including formulation and label changes when different ingredients or formulas are used. These guidelines should have the agreement and support of multiple internal departments, including management, marketing, production, safety and quality. Implementing thorough communication strategies can be time-consuming, but surprising customers with unexpected product changes can cause lasting damage to their trust and loyalty.

In today’s challenging food industry environment, proactive planning and risk mitigation are crucial for preserving business continuity, brand reputation and customer relationships. A comprehensive crisis management plan tailored to address specific threats is essential. By prioritizing cybersecurity, vendor management, fraud prevention and transparent communication, food businesses can navigate the challenges effectively and ensure their long-term success in this rapidly evolving landscape.

Paul Damaren
FST Soapbox

Real-time Supply Chain Monitoring Provides Improved Visibility, Safety, Protection

By Paul Damaren
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Paul Damaren

Global fast food chain McDonald’s manages more than 38,000 locations in over 100 countries, with thousands of suppliers. The company uses real-time supply chain monitoring to help ensure the availability of ingredients, minimize supply chain disruptions and uphold its commitment to food safety and responsible sourcing.

Whether you’re a massive global brand or a much smaller company, leveraging real-time data can help your organization identify potential disruptions in the supply chain—whether that’s a weather event, transportation delay, potential food safety breach, product shortage or other incident—and take prompt, proactive measures to address and resolve them.

Food brands should implement the following supply chain management best practices:

  • Utilize advanced technologies. Tech solutions, including Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tagging, GPS tracking, and sensor-based monitoring technologies, are effective in providing real-time visibility and data analytics. Walmart has successfully implemented RFID tagging to enhance real-time inventory tracking and optimize their supply chain. RFID helped the company improve inventory accuracy, provide better in-store shopping experiences for customers and drive more online capabilities. Additionally, RFID helps the retail giant see the real-time location and status of items in the supply chain, ensuring product availability and leading to improved order fulfillment and greater customer satisfaction.
  • Adopt an SaaS-based supply chain management solution. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions offer real-time visibility and data analytics capabilities, enabling organizations to make more informed decisions, based on data. For example, Nestlé implemented an SaaS-based supply chain management solution called SAP to manage its supply chain, gain real-time insights into its operations, and enhance efficiency. The software provides a comprehensive view of the company’s entire supply chain, from purchasing raw materials to delivering finished products. It also includes features to manage inventory, transportation and other logistics, to ensure Nestlé’s supply chain is resilient, flexible, and sustainable. Using this innovative software to streamline supply chain management can dramatically improve efficiency, effectiveness and your bottom line.
  • Proactively identify and mitigate risks. When brands continuously monitor and analyze real-time data, they can identify potential risks, such as natural disasters, labor disputes, and supplier issues. Coca-Cola’s real-time supply chain monitoring enabled it to swiftly respond to a labor strike, minimizing disruption and maintaining supply continuity. With tech tools in place to proactively identify potential risks, brands can develop strategies to mitigate and/or minimize their impact, such as diversifying suppliers and developing contingency plans. With the proper tools and strategies in place, organizations can build more resilient, sustainable supply chains and avoid potential disruptions that could be costly and damaging for their businesses.
  • Optimize operations through data analysis. Leverage real-time data to identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies and areas for improvement within the supply chain and take corrective actions. The Subway sandwich chain has faced supply chain issues in the past due to inadequate real-time monitoring, resulting in ingredient shortages and inconsistencies across different locations. Brands should regularly assess and update their supply chain monitoring systems, incorporating feedback loops and continuous improvement practices to enhance responsiveness and agility.

Real-time supply chain monitoring has significant benefits, including:

Enhanced risk management. Prompt identification of potential disruptions allows organizations to respond swiftly, minimizing the impact on the supply chain and safeguarding their reputation and finances. Unfortunately, when Chipotle faced severe food safety crises due to E. coli outbreaks in 2015, the consequences of inadequate real-time monitoring and response mechanisms resulted in extensive store closures, financial losses and damaged brand reputation. Having the proper tools and procedures in place can help organizations avoid similar crises in the future.

Operational optimization. Real-time visibility enables organizations to identify inefficiencies, streamline processes, reduce delays, and improve overall supply chain performance. For example, Conagra Brands digitized its supply chain to improve visibility and forecasting, better predict consumer demand, optimize processes, and improve efficiency and productivity. When the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the global supply chain, Conagra wanted access to more robust data and insights, so they could better handle the supply chain and labor challenges they were facing. The organization adopted AI and machine learning tools to drive insights and optimize operations, and the results were impressive. Conagra increased operational output by 30%, and production capacity by 20% at one of its facilities, while improving productivity and order management, and reducing energy waste, manual work, costs, and out-of-stock items.

Cost savings and efficiency improvements. Real-time data analysis facilitates better decision-making, reducing costs associated with excess inventory, stockouts, and transportation inefficiencies. Procter & Gamble achieved significant cost savings by leveraging real-time supply chain monitoring, optimizing inventory levels, and improving demand forecasting accuracy.

Real-time supply chain monitoring offers organizations improved visibility, risk mitigation, operational optimization, and cost savings. By adopting best practices and leveraging advanced technologies, companies can enhance their supply chain performance, reputation, and overall successes.

 

 

 

FDA Logo

FDA Publishes New FAQs and Tools for the Food Traceability Rule

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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FDA Logo

The FDA has posted new frequently asked questions and additional tools related to the FSMA Food Traceability Rule to help clarify how the rule applies to specific situations and commodities.

The new FAQs address are largely based on questions received during the FDA’s regular interactions with industry and on questions sent via the Technical Assistance Network, a central source of information for questions related to the FSMA rules, programs, and implementation strategies.

Along with the FAQs, additional tools developed to help further educate and inform industry subject to the Food Traceability Rule are accessible from the FDA’s traceability website, including:

  • Addition of the results for all foods and associated commodity-hazard pairs included in the Risk-Ranking Model for Food Tracing—beyond what appear on the food traceability list
  • Additional description on the Food Traceability List webpage to clarify that “nut butters” include all forms of nut butters—shelf-stable, refrigerated, and frozen products
  • Eight new supply chain examples that illustrate how the rule is applied in different scenarios for different commodities
  • What you need to know about the Food Traceability Rule fact sheets on “Recordkeeping Information for Produce Farms” and “Coverage and Exemption for Produce Farms”
  • Guide to Getting Started with the Food Traceability Rule
  • Additional foreign language translations of the Critical Tracking Event and Key Data Elements interactive tool and supply chain examples.

The compliance date for the Food Traceability Rule is January 20, 2026.

 

 

Cybersecurity

Food Protection: Challenges and Opportunities

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Cybersecurity

The recent ransomware attacks on U.S. Government agencies and hundreds of private U.S. companies is a reminder that cybersecurity remains one of the most significant challenges facing the food and agriculture (Ag) industries today. It was a concern that took center stage at a recent OSPA (Outstanding Security Performance Awards) webinar entitled “Food Protection: The Ultimate Security Challenge?”

Presenters Megan Francies, Food Protection Manager at LambWeston, Mark Wittrock, Assistant Director of Health, Food and Agriculture Resilience, Office of Health Security, U.S. Dept of Homeland Security, David Goldenberg, Chief of InfraGard National Sector Security and Resilience Program (NSSRP), Food and Agriculture Sector at UC Davis, Andy Griffiths, European Regional Security Director at Firmenich, Jason Bashura, MPH, RS, Sr. Manager of Global Food Defense at PepsiCo, and moderator Professor Martin Gill, Director of Perpetuity Research & Consultancy International (PRCI), addressed key questions, including:

  • How well protected is our food supply?
  • What are the risks and are we sure we are preparing and responding effectively?
  • How can increased information sharing between and amongst the public and private sectors help to reduce these risks?

Growing Risk for Food and Ag

Griffiths noted that due to hostile actors and regional conflicts, supply chains are seeing increased vulnerability making the implementation of effective transportation security and cargo theft mitigation more important—and more challenging—than ever.

In the U.S. there is a national response framework, but as Wittrock highlighted both public and private entities need to think broadly and holistically to prepare for and coordinate a response to attacks when they occur.

The need for strategic alliances and information sharing and analysis centers (ISACs) that allow organizations to share adverse events and strategies are important, but when there are many stakeholders with different—and often competing—interests, it is difficult to communicate in a language and in a timeline that meets the ideal requirements, added Wittrock. When living in an increasingly global world, we also must remember that “your friends today are not necessarily your friends tomorrow,” he said.

The risk of copycat attacks when an event occurs is also a concern, said Goldenberg.

The Need for Communication and Information Sharing

Francies championed the benefits of transparent and effective communication between government and the private sector. Her view was echoed by several panelists who encouraged more opportunities for organizations to share security breaches in a non-attributable manner to help others prepare for and reduce commonly experienced risks.

When asked, what is the biggest barrier to communication and information-sharing, Wittrock pointed to siloed discussion among key stakeholder groups. “When looking across the entirety of the food and Ag enterprise, it includes many different parts, pieces and stakeholders,” he said. “The communication happens largely in the vacuum of one particular discipline or stakeholder group. What’s lacking first and foremost is that strategic dialogue across communities.”

Efforts to improve communication are often challenged by lack of clear channels through which stakeholders can share information, said Francies. “A lot of times the communication goes out in a way that is not accessible to everybody, and it’s often last minute so people aren’t prepared to provide the insights that we need,” she said. “We need a defined way or area to communicate that is well known and publicly accessible to industry.”

In addition to clear channels, trust needs to be established among organizations and government agencies as well. “Industry has to have trust that the information they are sharing is going to be handled appropriately and that they are getting information that’s trustworthy from other sources,” said Goldenberg. “Unless there is trust across all the sectors and agencies among food and Ag, there is never going to be good communication.”

The need to protect brand reputation is often at the heart of unreported security incidents, said Griffiths. “But I do think there is a willingness to share certainly within industry and there is a need within law enforcement to obtain that information to determine how big the problem or issue is,” he added. “The problem is, there is no mechanism by which this information can be exchanged in a safe and confidential way that maintains the integrity of both the source and also the information that’s being shared. Yet, unless everyone shares across the board through collaboration or cooperation, we’re forever on the run.”

In light of the significant challenges raised related to communication and information sharing, Bashura shared successes that are taking place, including the ASIAS Aero Portal, which was developed by the FFA and Mitre to ensure security of the aviation industry, Operation Opson, a joint operation between Europol and INTERPOL developed to target fake and substandard food and beverages, the Food Industry Intelligence Network, and resources available through the Food Defense Resource Center. In terms of the importance of building trust among industry, Bashura encouraged leaders to reach out to each other. “Pick up the phone. Make a call, send an email, or shoot a text,” he said.

 

 

2019 FSC Audience
From the Editor’s Desk

Earn Up to 26 CE credits at the 2023 Food Safety Consortium

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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2019 FSC Audience

Food safety and quality professionals attending the 2023 Food Safety Consortium can gain up to 20 NEHA-recognized continuing education (CE) credits, while taking advantage of two days of high-level panel discussions and professional networking, “boots on the ground” education on the mitigation, regulation and control of key Food Safety Hazards, and their choice from four pre-conference workshops.

The Consortium will take place October 16-18 at the Hilton Parsippany in Parsippany, New Jersey, and feature leading industry professionals as well as high-level members of the FDA and USDA. Session highlights include:

  • Anti-Food Fraud Tactics for the Entire Supply Chain
  • Regulatory Audits
  • Food Safety Culture: Creating a “Speak Up” Culture
  • The Rise of Previously Unforeseen Hazards
  • FSMA 204: The Final Rule – Looking Ahead
  • Audited and Validated Allergen Control Plans
  • Recall Trends and Predictions
  • And more

View the full agenda and speakers

This year’s Food Safety Consortium is co-located with the Food Defense Consortium and Cannabis Quality Conference. The Consortium’s two-day program is recognized by NEHA (National Environmental Health Association) for 12.0 Continuing Education (CE) Hours. If you participate in one of the Pre-Conference Workshops or Trainings and attend the conference (a total of three days), you can gain 20 NEHA CE Hours (or up to 26 with the auditor training program).

Pre-Conference Workshops (held on Monday, October 16) include:

Food Safety Culture Design Workshop, presented by the Center for Foodborne Illness Research and Prevention in collaboration with Sage Media, will guide food industry professionals through the necessary steps to create an actionable food safety culture strategy.

CP-FS Credential Review Course. The Certified Professional – Food Safety (CP-FS) credential is the gold standard for those working in retail food safety, including cannabis edibles. Earning your CP-FS demonstrates your commitment to the health and well-being of your customers and shows the public you take their safety seriously.

Interested in becoming a food safety auditor or building your auditing skills? View the complimentary webinar, “What Does it Take to Become a Food Safety Auditor?” to learn more about this program.

Food Safety Auditor Training. This four-part series is designed to provide the knowledge, behaviors and technical skills attributed to a competent food safety auditor. The series includes three virtual 2-hour presentations conducted by a live instructor. These sessions are recorded and available for additional self-paced study for less experienced participants, while experienced auditors can refresh their understanding of auditing fundamentals before advancing to the more complex skills and critical thinking behaviors needed to audit high risk products. The course culminates with a full day of in-person instruction (Monday, Oct. 16) on advanced topics such as potential conflicts of interest, enhanced conflict resolution techniques and providing tips in advanced written communication skills to support the delivery of comprehensive audit reports.

The Seed to Sale Safety Workshop. Led by four veterans of cannabis quality and safety, this pre-conference workshop offers participants an interactive and engaging opportunity to learn about the novel seed-to-sale safety considerations associated with cannabis edibles. Participants will achieve an understanding of cannabis hazard analysis, learn the principles of cannabis edible GMPs, apply food safety best practices, identify risks in marketing and labeling and apply the fundamentals of state and federal regulatory compliance.

Register now for the 2023 Food Safety Consortium

Food Safety Consortium 2023
From the Editor’s Desk

Registration Open for the 2023 Food Safety Consortium

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Food Safety Consortium 2023

Registration for the 11th Annual Food Safety Consortium, which will take place October 16-18 at the Hilton Parsippany in New Jersey, is now open.

Presented by Food Safety Tech, the Food Safety Consortium is a business-to-business conference that brings together food safety and quality assurance professionals for education, networking and discussion geared toward solving the key challenges facing the food safety industry today.

In addition to two full days of high-level panel discussions, this year’s program will include a second Food Safety Hazards track. These “Boots on the Ground” sessions provide education on the detection, mitigation, control and regulation of key food hazards.

New this year is a strategic co-location with the Cannabis Quality Conference (CQC), a business-to-business conference and expo where cannabis industry leaders and stakeholders meet to build the future of the cannabis marketplace. Registered attendees get full access to both conferences.

Registration options are available for in-person and virtual attendance.

The Consortium will kick off with presentations from Erik Mettler, Assistant Commissioner for Partnerships and Policy in the FDA’s Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA), and Sandra Eskin, Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety at the USDA FSIS, followed by a Town Hall with the regulators.

Other agenda highlights include:

  • The Future of Food Safety Culture
  • The Rise of Previously Unforeseen Hazards,
  • FSMA 204: The Final Rule – Looking Ahead,
  • Anti-Food Fraud Tactics for the Entire Supply Chain
  • Bridging the gap between food safety and cybersecurity
    Protecting Allergic Consumers through Audited and Validated Allergen Control Plans
  • Succession Planning for Food Safety Inspectors
    Utilizing Food Quality Plans to Ignite Positive Food Safety Culture
  • Recalls Trends and Predictions

View the full agenda and register here.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to take part in pre-conference workshops on Monday, October 16, including:

  • Food Safety Auditor Training
  • CP-FS Credential Review Course
  • The Food Safety Culture Design Workshop
  • The Seed to Sale Safety Workshop

Event Hours

Monday, October 16: 8:30 am – 5:00 pm (Pre-conference Workshops)

Tuesday, October 17: 8 am – 6:30 pm

Wednesday, October 18: 8:30 am – 3:45 pm

Register now

Tabletop exhibits and custom sponsorship packages are available. Contact Sales Director RJ Palermo.

About Food Safety Tech

Food Safety Tech is a digital media community for food industry professionals interested in food safety and quality. We inform, educate and connect food manufacturers and processors, retail & food service, food laboratories, growers, suppliers and vendors, and regulatory agencies with original, in-depth features and reports, curated industry news and user-contributed content, and live and virtual events that offer knowledge, perspectives, strategies and resources to facilitate an environment that fosters safer food for consumers.

About the Food Safety Consortium

The Food Safety Consortium is an educational and networking event for Food Protection that has food safety, food integrity and food defense as the foundation of its educational content. With a unique focus on science, technology and compliance, the “Consortium” enables attendees to engage in conversations that are critical for advancing careers and organizations alike. Delegates visit with exhibitors to learn about cutting-edge solutions, explore high-level educational tracks, and network with industry executives to find solutions to improve quality, efficiency and cost effectiveness in the evolving food industry.

 

George Gansner

Now is the Time to Reassess the Food Industry’s Approach to Managing Risk

By George Gansner
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George Gansner

The food industry is under intense scrutiny, with concerns about food safety and quality making headlines around the world. Today, the industry faces unprecedented challenges when it comes to ensuring the safety and security of the global food supply chain. Leaders need to manage known concerns such as foodborne pathogens, food fraud and contamination, as well as emerging challenges, including ingredient scarcity and changes in consumer preferences that have created the need to reformulate recipes quickly, source from new suppliers, and increase imports—all of which contribute to increased risks.

Due to climate change and shifting environmental factors we are seeing crop failures, and new bacteria and antimicrobial resistance to foodborne pathogens, which increase the cost of managing food safety. As consumers demand greater transparency and look to place more trust in the food chain, changing buyer habits further compound these challenges by putting a greater onus on food handling, production, manufacturing, and supply companies to provide more education to consumers about foodborne illnesses.

Recalls are the biggest threat to a brand’s profitability and reputation, and this threat is growing. According to FDA reports, recalls increased by 700% in 2022, with undeclared allergens being the leading cause for the last five years. The Food Safety Authority in the UK tells a similar story with undeclared allergens accounting for 84 of the 150 recalls last year, followed by salmonella, listeria, and foreign body contamination.

As food regulations become more complex to navigate, it is now essential to reassess the industry’s approach to managing risk. Protocols such as VACCP and TACCP are regularly used as part of a solid food defense program to identify risks. But the traditional approach of relying solely on regulations and compliance-based systems is no longer sufficient to ensure food safety in today’s complex, volatile and globalized food supply chains. Now is the time to implement a more holistic and dynamic risk-based approach to managing food safety more effectively.

What Is a Risk-Based Approach to Food Safety?

A risk-based approach allows the industry to proactively identify potential food safety risks and take appropriate measures to mitigate them, rather than simply responding to problems as they arise. For example, mature food businesses are building on food safety management systems with food safety audits to identify and manage risk to stay ahead of the curve. A risk-based approach helps underpin the continuous improvement process and, by doing so, demonstrates the ability of a company to be a trusted partner in the global food supply chain.

One of the key aspects of a risk-based approach to managing food safety is proactive intervention and control, using relevant data analysis stored in a cloud-based platform. All stakeholders need access to accurate and actionable data during risk assessment and management to make informed decisions. However, there are many barriers to accessing risk-related data for smaller operators, many of which are still working in a largely manual way.

Data must be collated from across the business, and multiple data sources need to be collected and appropriately analyzed to protect both the brand and public health. It is estimated that we are at least 10 years away from any type of interoperability of industry data, which will allow better transparency and visibility of risk across the supply chain.

Stay Ahead of Emerging Legislation

Visibility of the emerging legislation in source countries of ingredients and raw materials is critical, as are contingency sourcing plans and good risk analysis protocols. Food integrity needs to be a standing agenda point as part of internal meetings, and ESG policies need to be visibly delivered. The industry needs to ensure that it is aware of changes in regulations that could impact the safety and quality of its products through horizon scanning tools. There is also an onus on the industry to make its risk assessments more dynamic to incorporate change at a frequency that is appropriate for risk evaluation with effective crisis management plans in place.

Supply Chain Management Is Critical

Sourcing raw materials and ingredients across supply chains requires best practices. You must ensure that your supply chain partners and suppliers know how to manage a crisis and that emerging risks are shared across the supply chain. Quality, food safety, and regulatory divisions must actively participate in risk assessments and receive relevant data and communication. ESG policies also need to include the supply chain; leaders in this space need to be able to verify that these policies are delivering.

Marketing claims must be vetted and aligned with regulations and markets where products are sold. Procurement, supply chain and communication, and external partners such as NGOs and consumer associations are important groups to involve in risk profiling and ongoing management. While managing emerging issues and horizon scanning is critical, it is also important to remain vigilant on the basics, as most food safety and allergen incidents are known risks.

Detecting Food Fraud

Opportunistic food fraud cases are rising in the high food inflation market, with recent examples including everything from adulterated honey to the mislabeling of beef. To deter food fraud, businesses need to focus on risk-based auditing and testing through sampling programs. Knowing your supply chain, shopping around safely, being vigilant about ingredients and specifications, utilizing training, and building awareness and readiness are imperative to deter food fraud and create a culture of confidence and greater food safety.

Think Differently About Managing Risk

Now is the time for the food industry to reassess its approach to managing risk. A risk-based approach focusing on prevention, continuous improvement, and stakeholder collaboration is necessary to ensure a safe and secure food supply chain in an increasingly complex and challenging environment. The industry must prioritize data accessibility and accuracy, have a crisis management plan, be aware of emerging legislation, and include ESG policies in its risk management strategies. By focusing on risk-based auditing and testing, the industry can deter food fraud and create a culture of confidence.

The probability of eliminating all risks is very low, so the food industry must pivot and be agile to challenge the traditional approaches to managing food safety. It is time to think differently about managing risk and adopt new practices that promote prevention and collaboration.