Traceability of product and ingredient storage containers
Good morning, gang.
I'm working on an SQF system for a very small food production co-pack (5 employees). Focusing on our traceability and recall plans, I'm confident that all ingredients and finished product are fully traceable, but I'm worried about my ability to trace the reusable HDPE 5-gallon pails and 1-gallon jugs we use for food storage in-house. Would these kinds of materials be checked for traceability in an SQF audit? Finished product (i.e. bottled beverages, RTE food) is shipped in traceable packaging, but our inventory of storage containers and pails sent to clients for further processing before distribution is not currently traceable. I have a fear that we'll need to scrap all our packaging materials and start over from scratch (a prohibitive expense for us).
Much gratitude for any help or insight!
Hi, DropOfJoyVT
I'm not sure how you're using the pails and jugs. But I have some reusable ingredient storage "bins" and 5g pails used to weigh up materials.
We have a validated wash between each use so that there's no need to trace further. For my ingredient storage bins I wash every time there is a lot change in the storage bin so that one supplier lot could not contaminate another, but we can refill with the same supplier lot without cleaning.
Tracing equipment like that is about scope. If you're using something product contact, you want to be able to trace the sanitation events that set the "brackets" so that you know what was potentially cross-contaminated. If you can't identify specific pieces of equipment then a blanket policy of "clean before each use" eliminates that scope so that possibility is eliminated in the event of an investigation.
Ok, excellent. I was worried that I'd be asked to trace the history of a given bucket's use through its lifetime or something like that. We have validated cleaning and sanitation procedures for all our reusable storage materials, and every production procedure specifies that equipment be sanitized before use. I think that answered my question. Thanks, folks!
I would think a log would be needed to show what product is added to the bins each time, the sprcific name and lot code, with a confirmation the cleaning was done between different lots...how can you prove traceability without a record? Also, the process should be monitored and verified as being effective.
Regards,
Theresa
How did that audit go?
I would think a log would be needed to show what product is added to the bins each time, the sprcific name and lot code, with a confirmation the cleaning was done between different lots...how can you prove traceability without a record? Also, the process should be monitored and verified as being effective.
Regards,
Theresa
Hi Theresa,
It's a I year old thread so maybe a delay. Or you might get lucky !