10 replies to this topic

[highlind chick]

Hi, not sure if this is the correct place to post this but here goes. We are a small food manufacutring plant and we have just started to supply customers with prep veg, orange segments, peeled potaoes etc. The problem is I have no way of tracing them back to follow correct traceability. We were currently not tracing them when they were used in products as they were cooked but now I feel this is incorrect especially for items that are not cooked after receiving like the orange segments. There are no batch numbers, use by dates or anything else on the packaging. Does anyone have any ideas or information on how we can make the fresh vegetables traceable or any other information. Any help would be greatly appreciated as the FSA are coming next month with the EHO's and I would like to be clued up on this and make sure my procedures are correct.

[highlind chick]

Just to add further confusion, we also supply unprepped veg to customers as well.

[GMO]

You do need this because currently your procedures are breaking UK law.

For traceability to work, you normally need some kind of records. Let's take potatoes as an example. When they arrive on site, presumably you do some kind of quality and quantity check to make sure they're up to standard and they are what you ordered. If you don't have a record for this right now, I would put one in place. On this you need to record any batch details of the delivery, this might include the supplier (or farm if bought direct) and some kind of batch code; this might be as simple as the harvest date and variety.

The next step is presumably debagging and peeling? So at this point you will lose any batch information on the sack so you need to give it your own batch code. This could be as simple as the date and time or batch number, e.g. 24/02/09 No1 or 24/02/09 09:30. If you do give it your own batch code, you need to keep a record of what potato batches went in so 24/02/09 No1 could contain potoes picked on 20/02/09 and 21/02/09 but you do need some kind of record for that or otherwise you wouldn't know. It's also good practice to know how much of each goes into your finished peeled batch (it's useful for auditing later.)

If there is a cutting stage you might then want to create a batch for that too and so on.

The reason why I think it's important (apart from the legal reason) is it's all very well saying most of your stock is cooked, however, there have been recent incidents of illegal pesticide contamination and that would not be destroyed by cooking so if you put yourself in the shoes of your customer for a minute, they would want to know if the potatoes they had used had come from a potentially contaminated batch. Do you see where I'm coming from?

[YongYM]

Dear GMO:

You make 'traceability' so clear. Bravo!


Yong

[a_andhika]

Dear GMO,

Splendid, I felt like being scrutinized by a tough food inspector....


Dear highlind chick,

Its true that we cannot fully control the supplier, but you can manage to control your process. We do use some fresh material too in our process. Then we give the batch on the material based on incoming date. So I am quite sure we wont found difficulties to differ the present and previous incoming materials, even when they processed at same batch.


Regards,


Arya

[highlind chick]

Hi GMO,

Well thank you, your wealth of knowledge far exceeeds anything of mine. Yes I do understand where you are coming from. I thought i might be breaking UK law. I am going to speak to the head chef and the managing director today but when you have a head chef like mine its hard to implement changes which are necessary. Also a general manager who is too busy to do anything and im still not entirely sure what his job role include! Thank you so much for your help it is greatly appreciated as always.

[highlind chick]

Hi,

I take it we have to trace all fruit and vegetables even if we dont prep them, like the ones we send to hotels and resturants. We have a fairly large fruit and veg warehouse and we get lots of items in that are loose. Nearly all items do not come in with batch codes and no dates attached to them. We also have big bags of say carrots or onion and lots of them. So this would untimately mean that all fruit and veg coming into the warehouse when delievered must be logged, then all fruit or veg used in the kitchen has to be logged and all fruit and veg sent to hotels and resturants, the orders which we make up, must also be logged? This would create a lot of extra work in our warehouse and much more paperwork. Sometimes we might only send out 5 leeks, 1 carrot and 10 oranges. I am finding it hard to get my head round how I am going to be able to log all the items we have and make traceability work. Could i log all the items coming in and just write a batch code or number on the box or bag? Does this fill the necessary requirements? Any help is greatly appreciated.

[a_andhika]

Dear highlind,

I think you should define which part that considered as one batch of incoming material. If your supplier delivering carrot at the morning, and deliver it again at the afternoon, is it considered as different batch? Sorry I am not too understand by "logged" means. Does it means you record the batch into the computer?

I dunno bout the regulation. But I do the similar practice. If the material was coming in any form of pakaging material, I write down the QC Acceptance Number on the packaging, and it considered as internal batch number (either if the supplier mention batch number on the packaging or no). So the warehouse or production section shall take the material based on QC Acceptance Number (which is sequenced), to ensure the FIFO. When the production use the material, they will write down the QC Acceptance Number on their report, for the sake of traceability. And passed on until the finished product. So you only need to make sure that QC Acceptance number is well recorded/logged at the incoming, and the other section should ensure it recorded with well when taken/used.

Or maybe you can try the more advance way by using RFID, like these (no spam intended):

http://www.agnet.org/library/bc/54016/

http://www.mytoowoom...let-control.htm

http://buyrfid.righttag.com/



Regards,


Arya

[highlind chick]

Thank you for your input and advice.



By logged I mean recorded onto paper work. Thanks for your links although as we are a very small company and with the financial climate no money will be spent on implementing this system. This will be a paper based system.



I think my problem is how to differentiate between the same product. I mean for example the onions I get in are in big 5kg bags, which are stored on a pallet. If I have two different batches on a pallet how can the production staff and the warehouse staff differentiate between the new ones which have a different batch code from the other ones? Without there being some form of batch code attached to the onions. At present the new ones are just placed under the old ones. Does that make sense? As I said before nearly all our products come without a batch code of infact any code.



I have attached an incoming goods check that we currently use, because there are mostly no fruit and vegetable batch codes present this section is always left blank. I take it this would be acceptable?



Also another question, as if I haven’t asked enough already what sort of shelf life should fruit and vegetable be given? Again as lots of our products are loose and with no dates we go by appearance, feel and touch to base our judgments on this. Does anyone have a system?

Again thanks to all.

Attached Files

•  Warehouse_Incoming_Goods_QMS_39.doc   42KB   114 downloads

[a_andhika]

Dear highlind,

As I mentioned, you need to write down the QC acceptance number at the material's packaging on every incoming. As for an example, on 02nd March onion is coming to your place, 5 kg. Then you can write number on the sack: 001. On the 3rd March another 5 kg onion is coming, then write 002 on the sack. By this way you can trace the usage of every material and monitor how long they have been on your storage. Hope makes you clear.

As for the shelf life, perhaps these references may help you:

http://www.howrahgar.....les Fresh.doc

http://www.bae.ncsu....14-8/index.html

http://cookingresour..._and_vegetables


Regards,


Arya

[Charles.C]

Dear Highlind chick,

Sacked product is always going to be tricky IMEX. Clearly a marking or tagging (barring foreign material contamination) of each component of a batch is the preferred system but it takes labour (in comparison, sophisticated methods where things like on-line inkjet systems are used cost money). One option which i hv used is to create a map of the storeroom which is not so difficult if you hv proper racking systems in use and then, if required, sub-segregate batches with dated cardboard separators, 1 piece per 10, 20 units whatever depending on the quantity. The storeroom controller is then responsible for managing the setup but the functionality obviously depends on what sort of distribution is in use. The separators can then be used as a back-up record where whole batches are taken for use. Sadly, monitoring problems will always exist IMO if you are only taking small quantities from lots with limited marking (no doubt pilferers will also happily agree !), How much yr options are controlled by legal requirements depends on the locality as usual.

Rgds / Charles.C

added - If you want to do a self-check as to the viability of yr system, suggest you initially try this – imagine someone picking up two or three random examples of yr finished goods containing multiple ingredients then asking to see all the documented, processing history for the particular date-coded components backwards to their batch receival at the factory. Now test / add the forward ‘fate’ of all the other raw materials which were simultaneously received in the relevant batches up to current date. This would include the ability to show a documented, plausible, associated mass balance.
Then try a dummy recall procedure using an equivalent methodology and product codes such that some / all product has already left the factory. The typical target times to fully determine the curent locations / quantities are something like maximum 30 – 60 mins from memory.