Food Safety—Building a Company Culture

Eagle's advanced inspection systems help food manufacturers lay the foundation for a strong
food safety culture and gain compliance for global standards.
Know-how, Innovation and Performance
As a leading global manufacturer of inspection and analysis systems, Eagle Product

Inspection has been a thought leader and educator throughout the world. We’ve built

a team of experts and partners who ensure we remain attuned to industry needs,

challenges and changes. We continually collaborate with our customers to develop

and execute the latest technologies that provide contaminant detection and quality

checks to ensure products are safe and compliant.

We invite you to explore our technologies and solutions. See how Eagle’s

Know-how, Innovation and Performance can make a difference on your manufacturing lines.
Is Food Safety a Goal or a Way of Life?
Everyone can agree 'safety' has become a way of life. The same holds true for manufacturers when it
comes to the topic of 'food safety.' Even if food safety had been a priority in your organization before
2020, had it been part of a company-wide mindset?

The BRC Global Standard for Food Safety first announced the idea of a food safety culture in its 2018
Issue 8 Mandate. It published that a food safety culture is a compulsory requirement and companies
must have an action plan on how their activities affect product safety. And today after the Coronavirus
outbreak of 2020, a food safety culture isn’t just something to be achieved—it is a must.

To ensure the right culture, companies need to begin with assessments of their current mindset and
then work to ensure broad “ownership” of safety, beginning with senior management. Then once a
company-wide food safety culture has been implemented, an audit either onsite, remote or a blended
approach must be conducted to ensure it meets compliance standards according to BRCGS Issue 8.
Three Questions to Ask Before You Get Started
1. Is your food safety culture vertical? The BRCGS clauses are designed to have you question your current food
safety culture to ensure that your organization has a truly vertical one. That vertical culture begins at the top
with senior management, who must be engaged to create food safety plans and programs that are visible,
easily communicated across the company and “owned” by employees at every level. This includes an appointed
team designated to handle COVID-19 response in the event of an outbreak.

2. Have you given an honest, thorough assessment? This may sound like a big question, but determining the answer
can be done by assessing the organizational culture as it is now. Next determine how and whether all employees
are following that culture—from the receipt of raw materials to the shipment of packaged goods, from shift to
shift, and department to department. Including new COVID-19 protocols regarding systems for emergency supplier
and raw material approval, as well as additional housekeeping and hygiene measures.

3. What do the end-to-end measures look like? Inspection technologies come into play in a strong food safety
culture. X-ray systems and software put into place at various stages of production help assure product safety
and integrity. Moreover, x-ray systems on the line are a visible reminder of a commitment to food safety and
a visual signal of vulnerability and vigilance. Ongoing training and support provided by x-ray experts also
underscore the priority of a company’s comprehensive food safety culture.
BRCGS Mandates that Impact Food Safety
Mindsets and Measures
The Issue 8 mandates were made after careful consideration and collaboration among teams comprised
of food manufacturers, foodservice operators, retailers, certification organizations and independent
technical experts. Here’s how it breaks down–and how x-ray inspection fits into the changes:

A Compulsory Food Safety Culture

As part of putting together and executing plans for a better food safety culture, manufacturers are asked to
assess their current culture, make improvements and then review the effectiveness of those improvements.

Senior Management Commitment

Senior management must be committed to food safety, with a focus on open channels of communication
and continual improvement. Areas of improvement can include methods of inspecting products for physical
contaminants and locations in which detection systems can prevent safety-related problems.

Safe Operating Environment and Environmental Monitoring

It is important to assess the site, personnel and high-risk/high-care production risk zones. In addition to
personal protective equipment (PPE), protective clothing and equipment cleanliness, operating a plant safely
involves the detection and control of foreign contaminants in products that can harmfully affect consumers.
More BRCGS Mandates and How X-ray
Inspection Systems Apply
Plans and Systems
HACCP, Food Safety and Quality Management Systems identify and allow companies to manage hazards,
as well as document and manage systems to ultimately produce safe products. COVID-19 additions include
a systematic review of HACCP processes, which in turn, involves the use of x-ray systems to find and reject
contaminants at critical control points. Documentation is also a significant part and can be achieved
through software such as TraceServer™ for centralized data management, which records important product
information captured during x-ray inspection.

Enhanced Food Security

Per the Issue 8 changes, manufacturers are encouraged to further develop systems for food defense and
food security to prevent any safety issues caused by intentional food tampering or other actions that impact
the security of the food chain. In addition to detecting foreign contaminants, x-ray inspection systems can
check product for crucial quality attributes, such as package integrity, component count, mass measurement,
fill level and more.
Eagle’s Results-Based Technology Solutions
Our powerful x-ray machines offer multiple benefits for protecting your product line as well as your
bottom line. Eagle x-ray machines can inspect multiple lanes running different products at the same
time, allowing manufacturers to reject those that don’t meet quality specifications. Additionally,
using one inline inspection system for food products instead of multiple machines, such as metal
detectors and checkweighers at different points in the line, results in several key benefits:

SUPERIOR PRODUCT QUALITY REDUCED DOWNTIME

PRODUCT ACCURACY HIGHER THROUGHPUT

CONSISTENCY HYGIENIC DESIGN

RELIABILITY LOWER COST OF OWNERSHIP

A Foundation for Food Safety Culture
Keeping up to speed on the latest compulsory changes is crucial for certification and, during pandemics,
proper process documentation is critical as audits are still conducted with either traditional, remote
and blended options available. Laying the foundation for a food safety culture is not easy but it's
important to ask the right questions before you start.

Are we effectively communicating with employees about food safety? A food safety culture is one that
encourages communication across the organization. Employees should feel comfortable raising questions
about safety if they spot a vulnerability, see a potential problem, or have an idea to improve safety.

What is our ongoing training for food safety practices, measures and tools? Food and beverage companies
would often bring in trainers for food safety and quality, to ensure compliance and to make sure equipment
is installed properly, optimized and running correctly. As they broaden their approach to food safety from
practices to a more all-encompassing mindset, manufacturers should regularly assess the type and frequency
of training for food safety practices, equipment and measures as well as offer remote options when possible.
Other Questions to Consider
What technologies and tools are in place to prevent safety-related issues? As companies have deployed and
updated food safety practices and programs, including HACCP plans and practices that ensure compliance with
other standards, they can assess the effectiveness with tools and technologies that prevent food safety problems.
From sanitation or rapid testing to inspection, detection technologies are in place to safeguard products from
physical contaminants and make sure product integrity is protected.

How do our food safety systems also ensure the quality of our products? Detection technologies not only find and
reject physical contaminants, but can also check for overall product integrity. Eagle x-ray machines are powered by
SimulTask™ PRO advanced imaging software, which delivers exceptional high-resolution greyscale image processing
with 65,535 values per image. It is a customizable software that can be tailored to specific product applications with
the flexibility to evolve with the ongoing demands food manufacturers face. The software can simultaneously perform
quality control for multiple products on a line and detects subtle differences with superior detail resulting in superior
detection.

Eagle x-ray systems combine best-in-class physical machine design with multiple generator and detector configurations,
and SimulTask™ PRO, to provide the best solution with superior inspection results for your production line.
Improve Your Food Safety Culture with
X-ray Technology
As food manufacturers continue to build on their commitment to a collective food safety mindset
with open communications, regular assessments and the use of more sophisticated safety tools,
they must continue to demonstrate both employees and customers that preventive, verifiable
measures are in place.

Eagle Product Inspection continues to improve its own technologies, spanning the design and
construction of its x-ray systems to the powerful software that drives it. Equipping manufacturers
with the most advanced inspection tools helps them adhere to standards designed to improve
general food safety and quality. When you're ready to see what Eagle can do to enhance your
production line and improve your food safety culture, contact us and we'll put you in touch with
an Eagle expert.

Notes

https://www.brcgs.com/about/news/2020/new-brcgs-guidance-published-to-maintain-confidence-

in-food-safety-during-covid-19/
Learn More About Eagle’s
X-ray Inspection Solutions
Visit our website’s knowledge center for more industry related content. From white
papers and case studies to applications notes, videos and ebooks, Eagle provides
a variety of industry relevant information to help you better understand product
inspection technology.

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and keep you up-to-date with the latest trends to ensure your inspection equipment
keeps your products safe. Eagle is an industry leader when it comes to performance
and innovation, and we’ll share the news that’s important to you to enhance your
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Subject to technical changes. © 7/2020 Eagle Product Inspection, LLC.