8 replies to this topic

[Nikki R]

Can i ask how often everyone tests their products nutritional content. Our current procedures state on development and in the event of a change. Our sauces dont change a lot and some of our nutritional results are 20 years old! I am sure i read a guide the other day which suggested a frequecncy to retest at but i have lost it. I have spent hours on the internert and cant find anything. 

 

Our food safety manager is not fussed at how old the tests are but i feel they should be reverified is there any leglislation or guide lines on this i am missing. I have the director geared up to retest but have no idea where to say these results are new enough 

[Tony-C]

Hi Nikki,

 

That would depend on what compositional testing you are currently doing and if any of the products have nutritional claims. BRC Guidance - "Good practice is to ensure that a programme of ongoing verification is in place to demonstrate that claims are consistently being met." although no frequency is mentioned.

 

If you are not making any claims then personally I would use software such as Nutricalc to check your current labels and if there seems to be discrepancies then prioritise this products for analysis.

 

Kind regards,

 

Tony

[foodsafetyAUS]

We only focus on the products that have a claim such as vitamin c or fibre and wet salad such as pasta coleslaw etc. we test these products within 12 months.


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[kfromNE]

I would do as Tony said. See how accurate the product is from a software program. If it varies from what your product says - then have it retested. My concern would be that the ingredients you use changed nutrition composition over time by your supplier. For example if you use soy sauce in a product. The nutrition content would vary slightly with various products and the recipes for the product could have changed over time.

[Scampi]

Has their been zero labeling changes in 20 years???  Canada and the US are changing the nutritional requirements to include things that we do not have results for as it wasn't a requirement to test for so the lab didn't

 

Lab methods also change over time, so while you probably don't need to have it done every year, 20 years seems excessively long to me

 

Plus, the labs also test for things you DON"T want in your product, and you can use the tests to verify that your product is not adulterated 

[Nikki R]

The recipies for our products have not changed, but my argument was we dont know if the ingredients have. I am going to suggest testing everything over 10 years and verifying on an annual basis using the nutricalc. then retesting in the event of changes or results from the programme varying from tests on record. 

[Scampi]

Your ingredients absolutely will have changed in 20 years regarding nutritional content. There have been massive improvements /changes in the supply chains, delays at this stage lead to nutritional degradation. 

 

If I were you i'd at minimum use nutricalc on everything you produce to get a base line, then make your revision decision based on those findings. 

[zanorias]

I use Nutricalc Pro and find it to be quite accurate when compared with the lab. We do Nutricalc and lab samples for new lines and if there are any changes to recipes. For products that keep the same ingredients and process long-term we do a lab sample every 3 years just to verify. Though we don't do a huge amount of different products so it's not too costly to do so.

[Gerard H.]

Dear Nikki,

20 years is a very long time. A verification allows to eliminate earlier mistakes or inprecisions.

The label information is a legal aspect of your product. It could be an extra argument in favour of testing more regularly, as you're not standing strong in case of a remark or a complaint.

Laboratory testing can go hand in hand with comparison against calculated data.

Kind regards,

Gerard Heerkens