Traceability/Recall Process

Hello all! I am a Quality Supervisor at the Original Fowler's Chocolates. We are having issues with the Recall/Traceability referring to the SQF Food Safety Code: 2.6 Product Traceability, Product Trace, and Product Withdrawal and Recall. We are a VERY hand-made and all hand-on facility in which we process a variety of Chocolates and Nuts (both Tree Nuts & Peanuts).However, we are having an issue with our traceability and mock recall process as we have one person working in our shipping department. We find it hard that this person must write down all lot codes of the products she is shipping out. But there are hundreds of products that can be shipped and different lot codes for all. Can anyone help with this process? My owner/boss is cheap and I believe he will never put in an automatic system with a software/ using a scan gun?

I feel your pain but you have to show your boss what are the consequences of not having traceability if you ever have to do a real recall. Instead of recalling one specific lot you will have to recall your whole production, calculate the cost of that! also you want to be able to react fast to avoid that any "affected" product reaches the costumer. The company's reputation would be damaged and the economic consequences could be fatal.

leave now!  I think you've been told what kind of company you work for

There are lots of inexpensive solutions out there and a scanning gun is worth every penny

I will give this company a recommendation. Inexpensive, easy to use and helps with inventory levels for FIFO as well

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

After looking at the website I'm even more convinced you should walk. If they can afford that website and to manage the very long list of ingredients, they can afford this. 

I feel your pain but you have to show your boss what are the consequences of not having traceability if you ever have to do a real recall. Instead of recalling one specific lot you will have to recall your whole production, calculate the cost of that! also you want to be able to react fast to avoid that any "affected" product reaches the costumer. The company's reputation would be damaged and the economic consequences could be fatal.

I am sure he is aware of the cost to set these up.. and i believe he is aware that he may need to pull everything. Thank you for sharing

leave now!  I think you've been told what kind of company you work for

 

There are lots of inexpensive solutions out there and a scanning gun is worth every penny

 

I will give this company a recommendation. Inexpensive, easy to use and helps with inventory levels for FIFO as well

 

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

 

After looking at the website I'm even more convinced you should walk. If they can afford that website and to manage the very long list of ingredients, they can afford this. 

Thank you for sharing! I am relatively new to this company (been a tech for 1.5 years) and finally moved up to Quality Supervisor.. my old supervisor/manager left in June.. i can see why she left  -frustrated. I will look into this company you provided me; thank you.

I agree with Loveforfood.  As a consultant we routinely have stepped in to "sell" an owner on the value of getting certain types of systems and equipment - and I believe you find this will work here as well.  There is substantial value in not having to deal with a recall situation and that should be the selling point.

Recently for instance we spoke with an owner of a family operated snack business that just would not spend the money needed on metal detectors in a facility that needed them (5 of them.)  Finally after seeing the savings in labor and also extending to potential deaths and injury it all came into focus for him and he went ahead ahead and installed five top of the line detectors.

I am familiar with your company, having been to your neck of woods for business I stopped by and bought a couple of boxes one day (most excellent.) Considering that the owner saw the value in being SQF certified and having an annual re-cert audit and that expense that goes with it - the value here being holding onto business and/or getting more $$ business by being SQF certified  = I think you will find this an easy sell.

I agree with Loveforfood.  As a consultant we routinely have stepped in to "sell" an owner on the value of getting certain types of systems and equipment - and I believe you find this will work here as well.  There is substantial value in not having to deal with a recall situation and that should be the selling point.

 

Recently for instance we spoke with an owner of a family operated snack business that just would not spend the money needed on metal detectors in a facility that needed them (5 of them.)  Finally after seeing the savings in labor and also extending to potential deaths and injury it all came into focus for him and he went ahead ahead and installed five top of the line detectors.

 

I am familiar with your company, having been to your neck of woods for business I stopped by and bought a couple of boxes one day (most excellent.) Considering that the owner saw the value in being SQF certified and having an annual re-cert audit and that expense that goes with it - the value here being holding onto business and/or getting more $$ business by being SQF certified  = I think you will find this an easy sell.

Thank you for sharing Glenn! I agree, if he put in SQF to obtain more business by building trust in the company, then he should follow all the steps necessary in the SQF code in order to achieve greater success. Thank you for your comments & for sharing!

We use a day lot code, specific to each type of product we make this lot code contains ingredient lot #'s used for each product.  We print the lot codes on small Avery label strips.  Shipping receives 2 packing slips - 1 for the customer and the 2nd packing slip gets the lot code strip, this packing slip is retained in our day production/shipping date for traceability purposes.

We use a day lot code, specific to each type of product we make this lot code contains ingredient lot #'s used for each product.  We print the lot codes on small Avery label strips.  Shipping receives 2 packing slips - 1 for the customer and the 2nd packing slip gets the lot code strip, this packing slip is retained in our day production/shipping date for traceability purposes.

We use a similar process.. only thing is that we use Shopify and ShipStation for shipping. So when we receive an order it goes straight to shipping. She will then take the packing slip and take the products and then ship all with the packing slip. This may seem easy now or when it is very slow during the busy seasons; but when we hit Christmas and Easter which are our biggest seasons it is near impossible for shipping department to write down all the lot codes of the products.. I am trying to figure a way of connecting the packing slips to the Quality Department so that we can receive them directly.

I am in a similar position. As soon as Christmas and Easter hit, any "easy" manual way of tracking this is no longer easy, no matter how streamlined.

Thank you for the recommendation of Can-trac. Does anyone else have any other recommendations for traceability software?

lkeegstra, depending on your province, there is sometimes grant money available for traceability improvements through the ministry of ag