Imagine for a moment that a beautifully wrapped, delicious-looking baked good is sitting on the counter ready to be eaten. The assumption is that it’s been prepared and processed by a food and beverage manufacturer that adheres to food manufacturing safety and food manufacturing quality regulations, and it probably has. But a recent New Food Magazine article, citing research from Emergen Research, suggests that food safety concerns are on the rise.
The concerns are based on different factors, such as countries with lax inspection standards, the COVID-19 pandemic (people want to know that their food hasn’t been exposed), supply chain challenges and more. These concerns, according to New Food Magazine, have led to companies “deploying additional safety measures in order to support brand value, increase consumer trust, and drive revenues.”
Investing in food manufacturing software is a good way for manufacturers to increase their level of food safety and traceability without adding a lot of manual steps to their processes.
Food Quality and Food Safety
Before delving into how food business software can help food and beverage companies ensure the quality and safety of their products, it’s important to define the two terms.
According to ASC Consultants, food quality “refers to the features and characteristics of a food product that is: acceptable to consumers and meet their expectations; value for money; conforms to the required specifications; meets consumer expectations and is and profitable to the company.” Food safety “refers to practices and conditions that preserve food quality guarantee safe food by preventing to prevent contamination and food-borne illnesses during preparation, handling, and storage.”
Food quality and safety are critical to the health of every person around the globe. As such, food and beverage companies have a huge responsibility to comply with governmental standards, regulations, and specifications. Should they choose to manage these compliance requirements using paper-based methods, multiple (and disconnected) systems or both, they risk human errors and failure to comply.
FoodBusiness ERP’s Jennifer Spanos, VP, Product and Vertical Strategy, and Danielle Jeukens, Manager, Continuous Improvement, hosted a webcast on this very topic. In Addressing Food Safety and Quality Challenges in Food Manufacturing, they explain that facilities trying to maintain documentation for complex food and beverage manufacturing processes on paper, through Excel, and in separate systems can expect inaccurate information, lack of visibility, poor response time, and lack of operational agility. If a recall occurs in such a facility, it would be hard pressed to trace products in a timely, efficient manner.
Not so with food manufacturing software within a comprehensive ERP solution.
Ensuring Quality and Safety with FoodBusiness ERP
FoodBusiness ERP is industry-specific software built in Sage X3, a complete management system for mid-sized manufacturers and distributors. As noted in a recent FoodBusiness ERP article, “FoodBusiness ERP comes equipped with all the features required to keep up with evolving industry standards, regulatory mandates and safety requirements. It is a unified solution designed to help food and beverage manufacturers better adapt to evolving industry changes and grow their business.”
From manufacturing, tracking and inventory to sales, finance and quality, FoodBusiness ERP was developed by experts in the food industry and can handle food and beverage companies’ complex needs. In terms of Quality and Compliance, they gain the following advantages:
- Support SQF, BRCGS, FSMA, GMP, HACCP and HARPC compliance standards
- Quality and audit capabilities
- Accurate and timely data
- Full lot/serial traceability
- Product recall management
- Allergen tracking
- Cross-functional access to information
- Documentation management
- Programmatic audit triggers
If you’d like to learn more, this may be a good time to listen to the webcast, Addressing Food Safety and Quality Challenges in Food Manufacturing, and to contact our team to learn how FoodBusiness ERP can help. We’d love to chat.