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Rising up to meet FSMA documentation challenges

Misinterpreting food regulations is a potential problem that could impact every food and beverage processor. The tools to help meet compliance are available, but staff with true food safety expertise remains essential.

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Most food and beverage manufacturers were ready for the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). In fact, many did not require equipment changes. The regulations were met on existing equipment by modifying operating protocols and improving data collection and management, according to the 2017 Trends in Food Processing Operations report from PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies.

But quick FSMA compliance is not always the case for smaller manufacturers and some dairy and produce companies. Seal the Seasons, a startup frozen produce manufacturer located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, is one example. The company sources fruit locally to the particular region where it is sold. “When you’re a startup business, the software that’s immediately available to you is limited, especially three or four years ago,” says Bryan Cohn, vice president of supply chain & market development. Software systems available back then were geared to legacy systems, which were quite expensive, he states.

“We are not anchored by legacy systems,” Cohn says. “We have the ability to do anything we want in terms of documentation, record keeping, implementation and so forth. I think our challenge has been interpretation of FSMA.”

The frozen fruit company initially partnered with a European firm to help it develop track-and-trace and inventory systems. “But as our business grew and changed, we found the software was not for us,” Cohn adds. The company heard about FoodLogiQ and realized that the software as a service supplier was nimble enough to handle its needs. “If there is a process or a procedure that needed to be changed or adapted, we can do it on the fly, not only for our facility in North Carolina, but with the facilities we were bringing online across the East Coast at the time,” Cohn says.

Using FoodLogiQ, Seal the Seasons was up and running within weeks with some of its core functionality. “The biggest advantage of this system is the fact that we’re able to capture not only our documentation, but we’re able to build out work flows and assessments and incidents that are adapted strictly to our production standards,” Cohn says. “Additionally, we’re able to capture all of the relevant food safety information of our suppliers, which are farm growers.”

Seal the Seasons uses FoodLogiQ’s software in unique ways. “We just created a new community within FoodLogiQ to do evaluations for suppliers that are not yet in our supply chain,” Cohn says. “For example, I was on the West Coast evaluating farm partners and potential production partners that we’ll be using as we move into the West Coast later in 2018. I was quickly able to put these potential partners into this particular community in FoodLogiQ. I had already created an onsite evaluation form, and I was able to upload all of their documentation on the go.”

Transparency is essential at Seal the Seasons. “We market ourselves as a local frozen fruit product. As we move into 2018, you’ll be able to take the lot code off of our bag and put it into our website, and it’ll take you straight to the farm, or farms if it’s a blended product, where that produce was produced,” Cohn states. He expects to see a one-year ROI on the software investment this spring as the company moves into the 2018 harvest season.

A matter of interpretation

Even for larger companies, FSMA compliance can be an expensive proposition. “FSMA is raising lots of issues within food companies, and it’s impacting the bottom line,” says a bakery engineering director who participated in PMMI’s study. “Misinterpreting the pending food regulations is a potential problem that could impact almost every business. Even food safety consultants can misinterpret regulations.”

While 2 out of 3 companies report 100 percent compliance to FSMA, validation and documentation still pose the greatest challenges. Food and beverage manufacturers continue to keep food safety top of mind as they upgrade plant floor equipment. According to the 2017 Trends in Food Processing Operations report, food processors are requesting FSMA-related equipment design features that include: 

  • •Sanitary design. 
  • •Easy cleaning. 
  • •Easy maintenance. 
  • •Robust data collection. 
  • •Ease of use for operators. 

PMMI’s research report goes on to say that while food manufacturers are demanding the highest sanitary equipment design, they simultaneously need OEMs to:

  • Focus on sanitary designs and documentation.
  • Understand that FSMA mandates careful documentation of cleaning procedures.
  • Comprehend that FSMA requires cleaning of equipment and facilities be recorded, and these activities must be done in a way that gives FDA confidence it was completed properly.
  • Not rush new machine designs to market.
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Back to Basics: Understanding Conveyors for Food Processing