Tag Archives: traceability

Sayed M Naim Khalid

The Imperative for an Integrated Food Safety Management System

By Sayed M Naim Khalid
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Sayed M Naim Khalid

As the global food industry continues to evolve, the importance of ensuring food safety has never been more critical. Various standards and certifications, such as GFSI, Organic, Global GAP, HACCP, and ISO standards, have been established to address different aspects of food safety. However, the proliferation of these diverse standards pose a significant challenge — especially for small businesses — in terms of cost, complexity, and overall compliance. In this article, we will explore the need for an integrated food safety management system (FSMS) that consolidates these standards into a comprehensive and unified framework.

Current Challenges in Food Safety Standards

The food industry is subject to a multitude of regulations and standards, each designed to address specific concerns related to food safety. The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) aims to harmonize and strengthen food safety standards across the supply chain. Similarly, standards like Organic, Global GAP, HACCP, and ISO provide guidelines for organic production, agricultural practices, hazard analysis, and quality management systems, respectively.

While these standards individually contribute to enhancing food safety, their coexistence often imposes a heavy burden on businesses, particularly smaller ones. Each standard necessitates a separate certification process, involving costs related to preparation, audits, and ongoing maintenance. This fragmented approach can be overwhelming for businesses, leading to inefficiencies and potential gaps in compliance.

Cost Implications for Small Businesses

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the food industry face a unique set of challenges when it comes to adhering to multiple food safety standards. The financial implications of obtaining certifications for each standard can be prohibitive. For instance, a small-scale food producer dealing with organic products may also need to comply with GFSI standards for global market access.

Certification costs — including consulting fees, documentation, and audit expenses —  quickly accumulate. Moreover, the need for ongoing compliance monitoring and updates can strain the already limited resources of smaller businesses. This situation raises concerns about the equitable access to global markets for businesses of all sizes.

The Role of an Integrated Food Safety Management System

The call for an integrated FSMS is rooted in the idea of streamlining and unifying the various standards to create a more accessible and efficient framework. By integrating these standards, businesses could achieve a single certification that covers multiple aspects of food safety, reducing the financial and administrative burden.

Integration can lead to a more cohesive approach to food safety, eliminating redundancies and ensuring a holistic understanding of potential risks throughout the supply chain. This not only simplifies the certification process but also facilitates better communication and collaboration among stakeholders, including producers, processors, distributors, and regulators. Benefits of an integrated FSMS include:

  • Cost Efficiency. An integrated FSMS would significantly reduce the costs associated with multiple certifications. Businesses can allocate resources more efficiently, making certification attainable for a broader range of enterprises.
  • Simplified Compliance. Streamlining standards into a unified system simplifies compliance efforts. Businesses can focus on meeting a comprehensive set of requirements rather than navigating the intricacies of various individual standards.
  • Enhanced Food Safety. Integration ensures a more comprehensive and interconnected understanding of food safety risks. This can result in a more effective preventive approach, addressing potential hazards at various stages of the production and distribution process.
  • Global Market Access. A single, globally recognized certification can facilitate market access for businesses, especially SMEs. This reduces barriers to entry and fosters fair competition in the global marketplace.
  • Improved Collaboration. Stakeholders across the supply chain can better collaborate when operating under a common framework. Enhanced communication and information sharing contribute to a more resilient and responsive food safety ecosystem.
  • Adaptability to Emerging Challenges. An integrated FSMS can be designed to incorporate emerging challenges and adapt to evolving risks in the food industry. This flexibility ensures that the system remains relevant and effective over time.

Challenges in Implementing an Integrated FSMS

While the benefits of an integrated FSMS are evident, the transition from the current fragmented system to a unified framework is not without challenges. Some potential hurdles include:

  • Resistance to Change. Stakeholders accustomed to existing standards may resist the shift towards integration. Overcoming resistance through education and awareness campaigns is crucial for successful implementation.
  • Technical Harmonization. Ensuring technical harmonization across different standards requires meticulous planning and collaboration. Consensus on common terminology, risk assessment methodologies, and other technical aspects is essential.
  • Regulatory Alignment. Coordinating with regulatory bodies to align an integrated FSMS with existing regulations is necessary. This involves addressing legal and regulatory challenges to ensure widespread acceptance.
  • Resource Allocation. Developing and implementing an integrated FSMS requires significant resources. Small businesses, in particular, may need support and incentives to make the transition feasible.
  • Global Acceptance. Achieving global acceptance of an integrated FSMS may take time. International cooperation and agreement on common standards are vital to ensure recognition across borders.

The need for an integrated food safety management system is evident in the face of an ever-evolving food industry. As standards such as GFSI, Organic, Global GAP, HACCP, and ISO play crucial roles in ensuring food safety, their integration into a comprehensive framework is imperative. The benefits, including cost efficiency, simplified compliance, enhanced food safety, global market access, improved collaboration, and adaptability to emerging challenges, make a compelling case for the adoption of an integrated FSMS.

While challenges in implementation exist, the long-term advantages for businesses, consumers, and the industry as a whole outweigh the difficulties. Governments, regulatory bodies, industry associations, and businesses should collaboratively work towards the development and adoption of an integrated FSMS that strengthens food safety practices, fosters innovation, and promotes equitable access to global markets. In doing so, the global food industry can move towards a more unified and resilient future, ensuring the safety and quality of food products for generations to come.

Food Safety Consortium

The Food Safety Consortium will take place October 20-22, 2024, at the Crystal Gateway Marriott, Arlington VA directly across the Potomic River from Washington, DC. The Program starts with several pre-conference workshops and training which leads into two full days of high-level panel discussions and educational presentations.

Jim Jones, FDA

Jim Jones to Keynote 2024 Food Safety Consortium in October

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Jim Jones, FDA

Food Safety Tech is thrilled to announce that James (Jim) Jones, Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods at FDA, will be the keynote speaker for the 2024 Food Safety Consortium, which will be held October 20-22 at the Crystal Gateway Marriot in Arlington, Virginia. Jones joined the FDA in September 2023 as the agency’s first Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods.

Now in its 12th year, the Food Safety Consortium brings together food safety and quality assurance professionals for education, networking and discussion geared toward solving the key challenges facing the food safety industry. In addition to two days of educational presentations and panel discussions, the Consortium will offer full-day pre-conference workshops, focused on topics including auditor training and food safety culture design, on Sunday, October 20.

This year’s session highlights include:

Navigating Global Food Systems: Insights and Strategies for Compliance with FDA’s Food Traceability Rule

Presenters: John Crabill, Director of Food Safety & Quality, Chipotle; Adam Friedlander, Policy Analyst, Coordinated Outbreak Response and Evaluation (CORE) Network, FDA; Julie McGill, VP of Supply Chain Strategy & Insights, Trustwell; and Sara Bratager, Sr. Food Safety & Traceability Scientist, Global Food Traceability Center at IFT

Are you the weakest link in the supply chain? Steps for bulletproofing your facility to become a major supplier

Presenters: Jorge Hernandez, VP of Quality Assurance, The Wendy’s Company; Tyler Williams, President, ASI

Next Level Preventive Controls

Presenter: Cathy Crawford, President, HACCP Consulting Group

Understanding Corrective Actions, Nonconformities and Root Cause Analysis

Presenter: Heather McLemore, Senior Accreditation Officer, A2LA

View the full agenda here.

Demonstrating Food Safety Culture

Presenters: Tia Glave and Jill Stuber, Co-Founders, Catalyst, LLC

The Internal Audit: Going Beyond the Certificate

Presenter: Cameron Prince, Executive VP, Regulatory Affairs, The Acheson Group (TAG)

Millions of Chemicals…But Which are Reasonably Likely to Occur?

Presenter: Tracie Sheehan, Technical Services, Mérieux NutriSciences

In-person and virtual registration available. Learn more about registration options.

Event Hours

Sunday, October 20: 8:30 am – 5:00 pm (Pre-conference Workshops)

Monday, October 21: 8:00 am – 6:30 pm

Tuesday, October 22: 8:30 am – 3:45 pm

Register now.

For sponsorship and exhibit inquiries, contact RJ Palermo, Director of Sales.

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.

 

Emily Newton, Revolutionized Magazine

6 Ways IoT Asset Tracking Ensures Safe Distribution and Better Traceability

By Emily Newton
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Emily Newton, Revolutionized Magazine

Internet of Things (IoT) sensors are being used in industries across the spectrum, and their potential is far from being realized. The data provided via IoT asset tracking technologies, in particular, can enhance traceability and product integrity, leading to safer food and reducing costly losses. Following are six ways IoT tracking sensors support food safety, traceability and accountability.

Vendor Compliance

Adulteration occurs more often in the supply chain than any professional cares to admit. Some experts estimate it has a $50 billion annual impact on the food industry. Whether motivated by financial gain or product shortages, opportunistic intermediaries will take advantage of poor food traceability and make substitutions, dilutions or falsifications.

To prevent bringing adulterated products to market and keep consumers safe, manufacturers must hold their third-party vendors accountable at every stage of the distribution process, and IoT asset tracking sensors can help. They have the ability to record shipment movements in real time, so companies can ensure that their products and raw materials arrive and remain in the right places at each step in the chain.

Further, manufacturers can reduce the chances of product tampering by using IoT sensors that alert you when someone damages packaging. Bad actors are much less likely to commit food fraud when they know highly sophisticated technology is monitoring their actions and movements.

Damage Detection

Food products, especially those in the cold chain, can bruise, break and flatten relatively quickly, causing financial losses. For instance, grain loses significant value when damaged due to improper handling. Through a combination of IoT sensors and sensing nodes that can track the condition of products and provide relevant, real-time updates, companies can ensure their shipments stay intact throughout distribution and transportation.

Theft Reduction

Cargo theft is a significant problem that’s relatively new to the food industry. According to the FBI, it costs supply chain vendors and retailers up to $30 billion annually. While thieves have historically targeted electronics or high-cost imports, food inflation is making food products a top target as of 2023.

Industrial IoT sensors improve food traceability by tracking a shipment’s movement through the supply chain. They can provide real-time location data or update food-manufacturing professionals when the product reaches a particular destination. Companies can use this data to pinpoint sources of cargo theft, delays or mishandling, increasing product safety and reducing loss.

Spoilage Detection

Spoilage claims 33% of food products manufacturers produce, resulting in over $1 trillion in losses annually. This figure probably isn’t surprising for professionals working in the cold chain, as transportation condition management is incredibly complex and expensive.

Even if food appears fine for human consumption, undetected issues can be catastrophic down the line. A single recall costs a food company over $10 million on average, not accounting for lost sales or reputational damage.

With IoT asset tracking, industry professionals can monitor temperature, humidity and chemical compounds to improve the integrity of their products and ensure safe distribution. They can place sensors inside their vehicles or in packaging to monitor all changes.

Since these sensors provide a complete temperature and humidity account, professionals can even collect data for future use to forecast potential losses when conditions become abnormal. This allows companies to take action quickly to prevent spoilage, dramatically reducing the chances of a recall.

Enhanced Data Collection

An IoT sensor utilizing radio frequency identification (RFID) can collect a massive amount of data on distribution and transportation conditions that industry professionals can gather and store for future use. This information provides insights into route optimization and/or sources of contamination. With the addition of artificial intelligence, these sensors can maximize food traceability by validating everything passing through a gate.

If retailers wish to make some of this information available to end users, they can publish it or use specialized barcodes. Customers will get to review the origin of the raw materials and products, providing increased awareness of where their food comes from and the path it took to get to their store.

Faster Traceability

One in six people every year become sick due to a foodborne illness. It is up to manufacturers, distributors and retailers to ensure product quality and prevent these illnesses. When outbreaks do occur, it is up to manufacturers—both morally and legally—to trace that product and remove it before others are affected.

Luckily, IoT devices meet all the necessary regulatory criteria. RFID and other technologies can trace products in real time and alert the relevant parties of any significant changes. For example, they could track a perishable produce shipment and notify retailers and manufacturers of an extreme temperature spike.

Since these sensors can send out instantaneous alerts, nearby professionals can immediately respond before product becomes contaminated or spoils. Whether they are alerted to temperature fluctuations, suspected tampering or imminent spoilage, they can move quickly to address the concern.

IoT asset tracking is an innovative approach to common industry pain points. It addresses the food sector’s unique needs, taking perishables, food compliance and adulteration into account. With such significant food traceability improvements, manufacturers, distributors and retailers will have a much easier time coordinating their operations to increase safety, speed to market and the quality of their products.

Matt Brown
FST Soapbox

Technology in the Food Chain: Insights from the IFT 2023 Traceability Challenge Report

By Matt Brown
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Matt Brown

In a report released in May of 2023, the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) offered an encouraging and attainable outlook for cooperative and effective functionality throughout the global food supply chain. And with traceability as the primary goal in this diverse landscape of users, challenges and solutions abound. Less a snapshot of where we have been, this report is a helpful guide to where we are going and how best the industry will achieve compliance to the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) by January 20, 2026.

Traceability Challenges in a Global Food Supply Chain

Traceability is a common goal in all industries. But when food and beverage is your bread and butter, the ability to trace a single ingredient can be a matter of life and death. Based on findings in a 2006 study, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported the following yearly totals: 37.2 million cases of foodborne illnesses; 228,744 resulting hospitalizations; and 2,612 deaths.[1] In order to improve the landscape of health and safety in the food and beverage industry, the IFT in conjunction with the FDA embarked on a study[2] of how low- or no-cost technology could improve traceability for businesses within the global food supply chain.

One of the greatest challenges in achieving uniform traceability lies in the vastness within the food supply chain itself. Those beholden to compliance are defined as “all persons who manufacture, process, pack, or hold foods that appear on the Food Traceability List (FTL).[3]” And this rule applies to all foods that are consumed in the U.S. market, not just those grown in the U.S. All laborers—planters, harvesters, processors, handlers, packers, distributors, shippers and retailers—who interact with any item on the FTL[4] must be recorded and tracked according to FDA guidelines. These guidelines include procedural protocol for food handling as well as timelines for processing and documentation. Whether the starting point of a single ingredient is stateside or overseas, it generally travels several places before arriving on a grocery store shelf or appearing on a restaurant’s menu.

Within this huge network of players lies the next challenge: economic and technological diversity. While economy and technology are not always one and the same, the typical overlap is demonstrated in the specific case of a head of lettuce. On one end of the supply chain continuum, a head of lettuce begins its journey in a field. There are no handheld scanners or databases in this lettuce’s origin story. There is only the hot sun, an irrigation system, and hard-working people laboring up and down the rows of lettuce. Now flash forward to Aisle 1 of your local grocery store. By now this lettuce has been inspected, washed, shrink-wrapped, labeled, UPC-ed, shipped, received and shelved. With each new set of hands it has passed through—both human and mechanical—it has likely experienced an ascending economic stratum with advancing technological features at each step. Sophistication and automation often increase exponentially as the number of places on the continuum increases. A head of lettuce purchased at your local farmers market, for instance, may have only changed hands once or not at all, while a vacuum-sealed carton of greens at your regional mega-outlet has likely seen many locales as well as top-of-the-line technology and automation.

In addition to a variety of technologies, it is likely that this head of lettuce has also passed through the hands of people speaking multiple languages. The laborers at the beginning of the continuum are often non-native English speakers. And regardless of a laborer’s native tongue, lower rates of literacy are common in entry level food industry jobs. According to statistics published by the Department of Labor in 2018, 77% of U.S. farmworkers report Spanish as their primary language. And the same report states that the average level of formal education completed was eighth grade.[5] Therefore, compliance across the continuum must be translatable and comprehendible to all levels of experience and available in all languages of users.

The challenge of complete supply chain compliance from one end of the spectrum to the other warrants cooperation across many lines: state, national, linguistic, cultural and economic to name a few. The need for intuitive solutions and an easy to implement process is paramount.

Technology as the Traceability Solution

With a better understanding of the global food supply chain itself, it is not hard to see why solutions can be found in the tech sector. When the food supply chain existed primarily in a local economy, keeping paper records was a viable process. Now the food supply chain is a global enterprise, and as such, processes must also operate on a global scale.

Tech solutions offer ready-made customization. Language translations, infographics, flowcharts and videos are easily incorporated into platforms for ease of use across all segments of the supply chain. This is beneficial to both domestic and international operations, and it is especially advantageous to those whose operations span both.

The availability of cloud-based platforms has elevated technological capabilities. No longer does every physical operation need its own dedicated server; rather, information is stored and remains accessible anywhere—from a single lettuce field all the way to the grocery store aisle across the world.

“It used to be common that shipments would arrive without necessary paperwork such as invoices, bills of lading or certificates of analysis. Even shipping labels would commonly be ripped off or illegible,” says Geoff Ellis, COO of Wherefour. “Things get lost in the mail. But when all pertinent information is stored in the cloud, it’s unquestionably accessible to the receiver, the shipper and the transport company.”

Not only does the use of cloud-based technology streamline operations for shipping and receiving, but it does the work ahead of time for quality assurance and regulatory compliance. Documentation does not have to be intentionally gathered and prepared for audits. Everything is already in order when a cloud-based tech platform is employed.

The FSMA’s Traceability Plan guide[6] mandates specific controls and standards for record keeping, all of which are reliant on lot codes. Lot code traceability is easily achievable with a comprehensive software solution. And data sharing is significantly improved with a cloud-based system. All involved parties can be in separate parts of one building or in different parts of the world, and they can still be on the same page operationally.

Expertise in the Tech Sector

With the FDA’s commitment to increased traceability, a shift in focus from response to prevention is apparent. And tech solutions have the unique ability to measure efficacy in procedural implementation across the supply chain continuum. Records are created, stored and shared in perpetuity, and those records can be instantly accessed from any location. Leaders in the tech industry are interested in creating solutions that are scalable and transferable. It is not uncommon for a platform whose original design was to address problems in one industry to end up solving a problem in a different industry altogether. Software solutions are by nature about operational functionality and can be applied to any operation therein.

Furthermore, evolution in the tech sector is rapid and collaborative. Expert insights and advancements drive competitors to continually improve and increase productivity and efficiency. “The tech sector is driven by a healthy sense of collaboration and competition,” says Ellis. “It’s exciting to watch the bar being raised by our competitors. It really motivates us to raise it even further with each new feature we develop.”

In order to achieve FSMA compliance within the diverse global food supply chain, implementing low- or no-cost tech-enabled traceability solutions is essential. It is in everyone’s best interest to remove any barriers that would otherwise prevent viable and nutritious food from getting to market.

References

[1] Scallan, E., Hoekstra, R. M., Angulo, F. J., Tauxe, R. V., Widdowson, M., Roy, S. L….Griffin, P. M. (2011). Foodborne Illness Acquired in the United States—Major Pathogens. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 17(1), 7-15. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid1701.p11101

[2] Bratager, Sarah…Grantham, Alison. (2023, May 17). IFT’s Tech-Enabled Traceability Insights Based on the FDA’s Low- or No-Cost Traceability Challenge Submissions. Retrieved from https://www.ift.org/-/media/gftc/pdfs/ift-tech-insights-fda-nolowcost-traceability-report-2023.pdf

[3] FSMA Final Rule on Requirements for Additional Traceability Records for Certain Foods. (2023, June 26). Retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/food/food-safety-modernization-act-fsma/fsma-final-rule-requirements-additional-traceability-records-certain-foods

[4] Food Traceability List. (2023, June 26). Retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/food/food-safety-modernization-act-fsma/food-traceability-list

[5] Hernandez, Trish and Gabbard, Susan. (2018, January). Findings from the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS) 2015-2016: A Demographic and Employment Profile of United State Farmworkers. 10-14. Retrieved from https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/naws/pdfs/NAWS_Research_Report_13.pdf

[6] Requirements for Additional Traceability Records for Certain Foods: What You Need to Know About the FDA Regulation: Guidance for Industry. Small Entity Compliance Guide. (2023, May). Retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/media/168142/download

 

Food Safety Hazards: Managing Supply Chain Risks

Maintaining communication, approving new suppliers in times of geopolitical conflict and product shortages, and conforming to the coming FSMA Traceability Final Rule are among the inherent challenges now facing supply chain managers and food safety professionals. In this webinar, we look at strategies to reduce supply chain risks from pre-approval through the management of existing suppliers and highlight opportunities to improve collaboration and protocols in preparation for implementation of the Food Traceability Final Rule.

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.

 

Gururaj (Guru) Rao
FST Soapbox

How to Overcome Food Logistics Challenges with Delivery Technology

By Gururaj (Guru) Rao
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Gururaj (Guru) Rao

The food logistics industry faces numerous obstacles. With changing government regulations and complex supply chains, it can be difficult for businesses to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of food logistics. There are several areas of expertise that must be taken into account when running a successful operation in this space, including regulatory compliance, financial forecasting and risk mitigation, customer demands and preferences assessment, resource optimization, technology integration, infrastructure development, and maintenance.

Each of these tasks require careful planning and execution to ensure smooth operations while also controlling costs associated with delivering the end-product on time. It is crucial for businesses operating in this sector to stay up-to-date with the latest trends in order to effectively plan for any eventualities that may arise, and this is where delivery technology can help.

How Delivery Technology Can Mitigate Food Logistics Disruption

Strategic Planning. Understanding customer needs and optimizing delivery routes is key to successful food logistics. To start, assess historical patterns of past deliveries and service levels. Long-term recurring plans should be applicable for periods of a quarter or two. Previously, route planning was done with pen and paper, but now computers can quickly assign new staff to existing regular routes. This technology can help you test your recurring route plans and optimize the number of deliveries to meet customer service goals while reducing mileage and streamlining the whole process.

Real-Time Visibility and Monitoring. Real-time visibility and monitoring are vital for any successful delivery operation, allowing you to verify that your deliveries are on track. You can monitor driver location and ETA information as well as average stop times, dwell times, fuel usage, and onboard temperatures. This is especially important for food deliveries, where it is crucial to keep the food at the proper temperature.

Order status can be viewed by the sales team too, so they can inform customers of any changes in their orders quickly. Unforeseen events that may delay delivery can occur. Therefore, it is essential to have a plan B in place that includes automatic notifications to keep customers updated. Although this may cause initial disappointment, taking this extra step will foster a sense of trust and reliability with customers.

Delivery Execution. Delivery execution is one of the most critical steps in the food delivery process. With modern technology, such as GS1 barcodes and delivery capture devices, wholesale food delivery is faster than ever before. Benefits of this technology include tracking goods for food safety, capturing proof of delivery, contactless delivery, electronic documentation, custom workflow capture, return capture and item substitution for customer satisfaction, and exception capture to identify and solve problems in real time. All of these features help guarantee that the customer receives their order safely and quickly.

Analytics and Reporting. Delivery technology is revolutionizing the data collection and analysis process for food logistics, enabling businesses to make informed decisions with insights from detailed reports. It can generate reports about on-time vs. delayed deliveries, popular items delivered, inventory age, miles driven vs. planned miles, driver performance, and spoilage/returns.

This data will help pinpoint customer preferences, manage food waste, boost fuel efficiency, increase driver productivity and improve quality control. Plus, these reporting tools also help to facilitate recalls in case of a food issue—letting businesses swiftly remove any affected items from circulation while avoiding customer complaints.

There’s a lot that goes into traceability. Here’s what is required:

  • Record product lot numbers every time products arrive at the warehouse
  • Maintain the traceability of raw materials as appropriate
  • Manage the movement of every product effectively during delivery
  • Identify the location of every product lot quickly

Food is what connects our world. It invites us all to experience other cultures and brings people together. That’s why it’s so important that this food logistics industry works like a well-oiled machine, and that can only happen if we readily adapt to current situations with the use of available technologies.

Paul Damaren and Francine Shaw

The Return to Hospitality: How To Enhance Employee Onboarding

By Francine L. Shaw, Paul Damaren
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Paul Damaren and Francine Shaw

After restaurants nationwide experienced several years of a stressful, disruptive labor shortage, the leisure and hospitality industry has recently added 128,000 jobs, leading all sectors.

Hiring new employees is exciting, especially after years of being seriously understaffed. As you welcome new employees to your team, do not underestimate the importance of onboarding, as 69% of employees are more likely to stay with a company for three years if they were onboarded properly. Additionally, organizations with an official onboarding process experience 50% greater new-hire productivity.

When new hires are trained properly, they feel more confident in their roles and the companies they work for can maximize safety, quality, and compliance. To accomplish this, restaurants and other food businesses should:

Adopt Integrated Digital Solutions

Tech solutions can improve all aspects of your operations, making everything from budgeting to scheduling, forecasting, purchasing, and inspecting more efficient, accurate, and streamlined. Tech tools offer many significant benefits, helping your brand save time and money, reduce waste, and optimize operations.

What’s more, an integrated tech stack can help you get a holistic view of your entire enterprise, whether you have one location or dozens. Easy-to-understand reports provide critical information, allowing operators to make more informed, data-driven decisions.

Digital tools do require an investment, but they offer a tremendous ROI. These solutions help improve safety, efficiency, transparency, accuracy, and consistency. These positive changes boost key performance indicators, including increased sales, profits, customer loyalty, and employee retention.

Prioritize Safety, Quality, and Compliance

Each year, 48 million (1 in 6) Americans get sick from contaminated food or beverages. Don’t let food safety breaches happen at your business!

Prioritize a food safety culture, where all employees work together to maximize safety and minimize risks. Put food safety protocols in place and be certain that all employees are following them. Provide the proper tools for employees to ensure food safety, such as Bluetooth sensors that can tell when walk-in temperatures rise above safe temperatures, and state-of-the-art food thermometers that ensure foods are cooked to proper temps.

It’s not enough just to follow proper food safety protocols yourself, you must be sure that all your suppliers adhere to the strictest food safety standards, as well. If you are following all the right protocols, but a supplier delivers compromised products, your customers (and your business) are at risk.

Food safety and quality assurance must be followed from each product’s point of origin until it’s prepared and served to the consumer. Audit all suppliers regularly and be sure that they have proper, up-to-date safety certifications. When you have multiple suppliers—as most food businesses do—it can be overwhelming to track and organize these important safety certifications manually. Tech tools make this ongoing process easier and more accurate.

Modernize Training Efforts

Some food brands, particularly smaller companies, think that they don’t need a formal training or onboarding process, or they rely on antiquated training programs that have been in place for many years. Swap out your outdated (and/or informal) training programs in favor of something more modern, relevant, and tech driven.

Add more interactive tech elements to your training program, such as microlearning platforms and gamification, to make the information more engaging and memorable. Supplement online training efforts with a live trainer, who can spotlight best practices, answer questions, and role play with your employees to make the lessons stick.

Don’t just tell employees what to do but explain why the rules are so important. Employees are more likely to comply when they understand why the rules are in place.

Keep in mind that training never officially ends. Provide ongoing training opportunities so employees on all shifts can keep important information top-of-mind. Digital tools not only provide key information during initial onboarding, but are essential for reinforcing lessons, delivering updates, and sending reminders throughout each employee’s tenure.

Work to Retain Employees

Did you know that the average restaurant employee changes jobs every 56 days, and that losing a front-line employee costs a restaurant an average of $5,864?

Digital solutions can help you retain employees, as these technologies make their jobs much easier. Tech tools can streamline tedious administrative tasks, such as inspections and inventory, so your employees can spend more time doing the things they enjoy, such as cooking delicious meals and interacting with guests.

Offer competitive pay, appealing benefits, growth opportunities, mentorship, and a supportive culture. And don’t discount the “seemingly small” gestures that can be a big deal to your team. Thank your employees often and sincerely. Praise them in staff meetings for going above and beyond. Write thank you notes. Give bonuses and small gifts. Promote from within.

Get Inspired by Innovative Brands

It may sound like something out of a science fiction novel, but White Castle has a robot working its fryer. Dominos has delivered its first pizza by drone. KFC is using facial recognition technology that recognizes repeat visitors and tailors their experiences based on their past orders and meal preferences. And Panera Bread uses geofencing to track each customer’s location so employees can promptly bring their order to their vehicle.

Your organization may not yet be able to afford robotics in your kitchen or drone deliveries, and that’s OK. But, as tech solutions become more affordable, accessible, and user-friendly for food businesses of all sizes and budgets, it’s clear that technology is improving many aspects of our industry. Digital solutions are no longer “nice to have” luxury items. They’re necessities for brands that prioritize consistently excellent and safe experiences.

By investigating and integrating new technologies, you can provide better service, safer food, and a more convenient dining experience. All of which will help you better meet (and exceed) customer expectations.

Kari Hensien, RizePoint
FST Soapbox

2023 Predictions: Technology’s Growing Role in Food Safety

By Kari Hensien
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Kari Hensien, RizePoint

Amid continuing threats to our food supply, food businesses should understand how tech tools can help improve all facets of their operations—from increasing sustainability to ensuring their suppliers are committed to safety and quality. In the coming year, more operators will rely on technology to save money, reduce waste, improve training, boost accuracy, and make more informed business decisions.

The good news is that tech solutions have become more affordable and accessible for food businesses of all sizes. Therefore, digital solutions will become more widely used in the coming year, as food businesses ditch their manual systems and/or disjointed tech stacks that don’t provide holistic views of their enterprise in favor of modern, integrated, intuitive tools.

Following are some of the key challenges that necessitate a shift to new technologies.

The Need for Sustainable Food Production

Climate change is putting food production at risk. Extreme weather is destroying traditionally grown crops and, moving forward, there will be a renewed effort around sustainable food production, including efforts such as vertical farming, hydroponics, and aquaponics.

The food industry must leverage technology to address multiple issues, from reducing greenhouse gas emissions to changing the way we grow food. Faster innovation is essential to make farming more sustainable, create new infrastructure, reduce our dependence on foreign food supplies, increase the transparency all along the supply chain, and reduce risk from farm to table.

Quality and Accuracy are King

Integrated software can boost accuracy, which will elevate a variety of critical metrics, including revenue, safety, quality and customer loyalty. Tech tools help you plan better, track inventory, monitor customer preference, and anticipate upcoming needs by tracking key metrics across your enterprise. Remember, if you don’t measure accuracy, you can’t improve it. Additionally, if there are accuracy problems, these tools can help you identify if you have one problematic employee or if there are more widespread problems at a specific location (or locations). Based on this data, you can take corrective actions, including increasing training and adjusting processes.

Training Will Change

Historically, food businesses trained employees by explaining how things should be done, then expected staff to do exactly what they learned. But what if you thought about training differently? What if you used tech tools to provide critical information in bite-sized chunks to boost employees’ understanding? What if you sent information right to their phones so they always have resources at their fingertips? Then, you could use automated reminders to ensure they don’t forget a crucial safety check during a busy shift.

One important change that’s expected to trend in the coming year is building collaborative cultures versus punitive ones. It’s important that employees feel encouraged to ask questions, seek feedback, and be empowered to take ownership of safety and quality efforts. Train, practice, demonstrate, and reinforce to boost employee confidence and retention, using tech tools to reinforce these lessons.

The Supply Chain Will Become More Transparent

It’s critical to implement safety and quality protocols for your business, but that alone is not enough. Every food business must also inspect safety, quality, and traceability all along their supply chain, as well. Thanks to more affordable, accessible tech tools, this is now possible for brands of all sizes and budgets, and you can get started without a big investment. Focus on what the regulations require and use digital solutions to seamlessly manage your vendors’ safety and QA certifications. Today’s solutions allow you to organize and track this important information in a centralized location for quick, easy access.

Food Businesses Will Audit Differently

Remote brand protection grew in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, as companies needed alternative ways to protect their locations/facilities when travel restrictions prohibited them from physically reaching them for audits or inspections. Now that the pandemic is over, expect food businesses to continue auditing differently.

Maybe it’s unrealistic to reach all your locations regularly, or it’s cost prohibitive to send in-person auditors to numerous locations multiple times per year. Tech solutions can save quality teams as much as 70% of their current program budgets, which is a huge win at a time when every dollar counts.

Increasingly, food businesses will ditch the paper checklists for more efficient, accurate, transparent, and frequent auditing, including self-assessments. Digital solutions will help ensure that every safety and quality check is done regularly (and properly). The days of relying solely on annual third-party inspections are over. Now, food businesses are embracing a combination of third-party and remote inspections plus frequent self-inspections to maximize safety and minimize risks.

It can feel overwhelming to try and manage all aspects of your organization’s safety and quality programs while also navigating the ongoing problems that are putting our food production at risk. Food businesses will have to work hard to keep the lights on and deliver products (and promises) to customers. Tech solutions will make all aspects of your business operations easier, faster, and more accurate, while also boosting safety and quality.