Mission-critical features of food lot traceability

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explorewms.com/food-lot-traceability-software-features.html

17th March 2022

A food recall is a serious issue for any food business. That’s why finding software to
support your company throughout difficult procedural processes is so important. Your
system should be able to handle every aspect of your food manufacturing process from
the delivery of the ingredients all the way through to the manufacture of that product and
its journey to a supplier.

Let’s look at an example scenario, and how each feature of a food lot traceability software
can aid that process.

This morning has been pleasantly quiet and you are getting a lot of work accomplished.
Then, the phone rings, and one of your grocery customers says there is a potential
problem with a jar of pasta sauce.

Feature #1: full ingredient traceability

Now you’re aware of a potential problem, you get the lot number from the jar and start to
work collecting data. You learn when the lot was produced and packaged. You find the
lot identifiers of the mushrooms, vegetables, and tomatoes used to make this sauce using
your system. Data on the equipment used for cooking is ready. All you need to know
about the jars and lids are ready.

Feature #2: complete product tracking

Your WMS provides even more for you. Your product tracking system shows that you
received 5,500 gallons of diced tomatoes on the tenth of the month. You know where
those tomatoes were processed, who was the carrier that brought them, and the exact

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number of the tank trailer that delivered those diced tomatoes.

Your crew pumped the tomatoes into portable vats kept in your warehouse. You have the
cleaning records for the vats and you know the temperature of the warehouse room
through the entire time those tomatoes were on hand. On the day the pasta sauce was
prepared, your forklift moved a vat to your production staging area. Standard quality
checks showed the diced tomatoes were up to standards and ready for processing.

Feature #3: extended lot visibility

Your system allows you even more flexibility to look further back in time and tells you the
farm where the tomatoes were grown and specifically in which field. You also know the
date of the harvest and all the transportation steps toward the supplier where those
tomatoes were diced.

That lot of diced tomatoes was also used to produce another product. You can see the
precise lot numbers for the finished product and where they now are. Some have been
shipped to grocery stores and other products in those lots are still in your inventory.
About half of the diced tomatoes are in your warehouse at this time and none are
required for production scheduled within the next few days.

Feature #4: robust recall process

Less than an hour after receiving that phone call from your grocery customer you have
completed an initial incident report and you are ready to recall products from your
customers and quarantine any inventory on hand whether that is made up of diced
tomatoes or finished products that have not yet shipped. You can alert any of your
customers quickly if that is needed. You can alert the supplier that diced the tomatoes for
you and the farmer who grew the tomatoes.

All the information you gathered in mere minutes using your food-specific software can be
used to immediately identify and isolate production, as well as start any major food
recalls. You’ve saved precious time at one of the most crucial moments in your business.

Feature #5: certification management

You can ensure complete compliance with all your customer requirements. You are ready
to show compliance with all the FDA already.

How is it possible to collect so much critical data in so little time? Your WMS and ERP
are designed for a food processing business like yours. You have set up those systems
specifically for your business and you know all the people in your business follow
established procedures to safely handle their jobs and record the steps and operations
they use without fail.

Feature #6: smart device enabled

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The FDA has performed audits. Your customers have audited your processes to ensure
you can deliver products that meet their requirements and satisfy every requirement of
your industry. You regularly perform internal audits and you have a well-defined training
and certification program for all the employees involved in any aspect of your food
processing business. Your warehouse environment is monitored constantly and all the
critical conditions are recorded automatically.

We still do not know if there is a problem with that jar of pasta sauce. More testing is
needed. No matter what the results of those tests show, you are ready to quickly perform
all the required notifications right now because you have the right WMS with the right
features and you know how to use it.

Tom Miller

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