This is an original article from Workforge.

By: Ramsey Atieh

Credit: Workforge

Welcome to the first installment of our four-part series on why you need to stay ever ready for audits in food manufacturing. Throughout this series, we'll explore strategies for food manufacturers to effectively ready themselves for audits by harnessing digital tools, ensuring robust safety standards, compliance, and transforming audits into streamlined processes at the click of a button.

This is an original article the NIST Manufacturing Innovation blog, written by Dileet Thatte.

According to information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), every year 48 million people in the U.S. get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die from foodborne diseases. That means 1 in 6 people in the U.S. get sick from contaminated food every 12 months. These statistics are important to take note of and address since the U.S. food supply also represents a huge economic asset, contributing almost $1 trillion to the national gross domestic product (GDP) each year.

The best managers are always seeking cost-saving opportunities within their manufacturing operations. Of all of those opportunities, there is no better cost to mitigate than that of poor quality. Lost labor hours and scrapping valuable food materials contributes zero value to your goals.

Therefore, to eliminate waste and improve quality, you must maintain a strategic approach which incorporates the following list to help improve product quality in food manufacturing.

Written by Ken Wunderlich, IMEC Technical Specialist

Food Safety rules, regulations and requirements apply to many types of companies, even some you might not think of, like ingredients and packaging suppliers, the packers themselves, warehousing and storage providers, trucking and logistics partners… every company that handles food on the journey from farm to table.  If your company handles or touches products in the food chain, or if you want to get into that industry, there are strict rules you have to play by, but they don’t need to be overwhelming.

Companies big and small make important contributions putting food on the table locally and worldwide.  Small farmers, for example, serve a vital role in supplying local farmers’ markets and retailers, where Food Safety management is a little less daunting because they literally control the process from the farm to the shelf.  You’ve heard it before, and it’s true:  Small Farmers are the backbone of America, and many make a good honest living supplying their local communities. 

It's no surprise the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) has inflicted more stringent controls on U.S. food and related manufacturers; and we should find comfort in the changes. But how are you, the manufacturer, addressing the preventive control requirements for your organization?