Production identification at a Farm

Hi All,

I received this project from a client and need your valuable input on how to take on traceability at his farm:

1. That company has a website where customers can shop and buy items that would be delivered to them.
2. They buy from about 100 small suppliers
3. They receive all ingredient in cardboard boxes
4. They buys: F&V, meat, eggs, fish, spices, seasoning, etc (Everything that can possibly make a lunch/diner) 
5. They prepare the bags for customers only when they have orders (Which is many times a day)
6. Their activities can be divided into two main groups: 1- Shop: & 2- Cook
7. Shop: "Shop" are items that are stored into their original boxes and that are put as-is into the bags (an apple, a piece of frozen meat, an orange, etc.)
8. Cook : "Cook" are items that taken out of the original boxes and stored in cooler or freezers in plastic bags because they would go in the kitchen to be cooked, then put into the bags with the rest of the order. 

Can you please share how you would go about product identification and Traceability?

I was thinking about labelling all incoming products as a start and I soon realized the labels would not follow up all "cook" ingredients because they are taken out of the boxes, then stored. :eek_yello:  

You feedback is greatly appreciated :spoton:

oh, a challenge!!!

ok, is this a customer dinner/shopping type store like Skip the dishes?

Exactly but everything is ordered online!

Anybody?

The easiest suggestion is that you:

A) record each "batch" of each ingredient as they arrive (type/BB/vendor etc.)

B) you attach a sticker/label to each unit as it is portioned

I really do think you are going to have to label all of the "cook" items with either the original batch/lot number OR one that you create that ties to the original batch at receiving

We use a program called iTrace, it appears to be very straight forward and ties into a zebra label maker (we are a farm to fork operation and they got a government grant for trace ability but it wasn't cheap) through OMAFRA and the growing forward program (which has been replaced this year by the Canada Agricultural Partnership)

I think this needs a bar code and scanner system so that as each item is picked it gets scanned out into the purchase order---then a good program would allow you to search the individual item that needs traced to each place it went (including waste if it doesn't get used)

He could use a handmade labeling system but it will be cumbersome which ='s it not being done correctly

http://www.can-trac.ca/

That is a great idea.

The problem is that they don't have the money to invest in such a program. 

There is an alternative to will meet both traceability requirement as well as their current business requirement ? :helpplease:  

That is the whole challenge actually.

Handwritten labels will work

receive product in 200 kg batch--lot ABCD on Monday--Monday receiving is always a yellow sticker---hand write ABCD and place on each customer size package put in cooler in a bin with a large label on front with BB date (so oldest is used first) as well as an alpha character attached to each supplier (Acme Chicken-AC)

Pick order for customer---record each lot FOR EACH ITEM and the colour of the labels and the supplier code, packed on paper order for customer XX (keep that record for at least 2 years)

Monday-yellow

Tuesday--green

Wednesday--blue

Thursday--white

Friday--Pick

Stick a sign up so everyone knows what colour to attached to what day

So when it's time to trace something----you've got the day of the week it arrived, the vendor and the lot number

Scampi is right to try to trace to orders produced in a certain time period rather than individual orders, that's going to be overwhelming without automation.

Rather than tracking what lots went into a specific customer order (since there will be so many), see if you can batch and trace what lots are used during certain time periods of fulfillment and get really strict about FIFO. That way, if you had a recall for pasta boxes and were given a lot number. You would know that all of those boxes were included in orders from day X to day X and can notify those customers.

Remember, if you aren't organic, you don't need traceability to be mass-balance from raw to shipped, you just need to be able to identify all potentially affected products that were shipped, and the level of detail will be up to you to either tighten or expand the scope of recall.

here is a link to CFIA recall procedures/requirements http://www.inspectio...7/1376327095576

here is OMAFRA's  http://www.omafra.go...sors/recall.htm

But I have a sneaking suspicion that your customer falls under neither of those..............it actually sounds like an inspected by the health unit in his location...........you may want to pick their brain

Is your client operating already?

Thank you so much Scampi & FurFarmandFork :spoton: 

Yes the client already operates and my mandate is to implement HACCP under the CFIA FSEP.

So if I summarize both of your thoughts:

1. Colour stickers per week day (Question: What if products last couples weeks? They will end up with multiple stickers of the same colour. Isn't that a problem?)
2. When starting picking order to cook. Do they need to record ingredients with the weight used in cooking? (It looks like a nightmare for them to me:-)
3. They don't have to identity all receiving and shipping individually since they are not organic or they do? Just to clarify 

I have worked in federal meat plants for 10+ years under CFIA FSEP rule

yes, they need to be logged as separate entries, but can easily be on one sheet  (circle ship or receive) or something like that

I would hope that other than dry pantry items, nothing remains in the fridge for more than 2 weeks, the colour coding is a simple way to be able to sort OUT shipments in and out---you know you only have to look at Mondays (1,8, 15  and so on for the dates)

You could convert weight to UNITS----200 kg arrive-parceled out in 500 g units = 400 units of said ingredient 

I am also Organic---and the FOOD SAFETY rules do not change between organic and non....the only reason you'd separate out organic is so that you are sure only organic went to customers requesting/paying for it

The biggest trick with FSEP is understanding the interpretation of some of the requirements.........for ease of use, the entire HACCP plan should reference section A through G....and also remember that CFIA's list of known allergens needs to be incorporated into your plan someone as a chemical hazard (i/e tuna steaks coming in contact with chicken breast) so there will need to be some form of physical separation in the cooler

http://www.inspectio...6/1332442980290

Scampi: Thank you so much :beer: .

I will keep both you and FurFarmandFork posted on how things go.

Update-

The client finally decided to end the project saying they are not ready to commit for traceability (PO, LOT#, Label, etc. etc.) :oops2:

Lol, that sounds about right!!  Did you fill them in on SFCR?  Trace ability will no  longer be an option.....do it know or do it later but EVERYONE will have to