We are a small bakery that is working toward getting SQF certified. I'm trying to wrap my head around traceability requirements. Historically, we have coded out final products with a production date and called it a day. So, there is a long way to go to implement traceability.
- Generate lot numbers when receiving products. Print stickers and apply to each package. Stay on top of FIFO and watch BB dates.
- For perishable ingredients with a short shelf life (cream cheese, butter, milk) and those that we use quickly and purchase frequently (flour, sugar) we would record the lot numbers used throughout the day on a "daily lot use log".
- Ingredients and food-contact packaging that take a while to use would be recorded on a separate log. Open a 30lb box of walnuts, record the lot number and the date opened. Then two weeks later record the next one. Same thing with the roll of sealer wrap.
- Date code finished products and scan each package to "pick" an order before shipping. That way we know which customer received products that were made on a specific day.
In case of a recall I will have to pull all the product made within a given day and I'm fine with that. If we find an issue with an ingredient during production, it can be traced back to a specific PO that was received on a specific day.
What I'm struggling with is what to do with work-in-progress? Cake layers may be baked one day (lot # recorded during mixing), then frozen and used in a cake that is assembled two-three days later and frozen again. Then it's decorated and frozen next day. Then it's packed and date-coded. This is a more extreme case, but could happen. So, it's not very straight forward to trace back the ingredients from the finished product. We do keep track of what was done each day, like how many layers were baked, how many cakes assembled, how many decorated. I know the real answer is to assign batch numbers at each step... But is there an easier solution?
How would you do it for a small manufacturer?
