56
APR 2017
FOOD FOCUSTHAILAND
SOURCE OF
ENGINEERING
2
Allergen Cross-Contamination
FSIS has recognized
a notable increase in number of recalls because of undeclared
allergens and ingredients of public health concern in food products.
Comparable to BRC’s allergen management recommendations,
at the end of 2015, FSIS issued a new compliance guideline for
allergens
best-practice recommendations, including the use of equipment
that is specifically constructed for its intended purpose and ensures
cleanliness inproduction.
3
LabelControl
Missingorwrong label information isacommon
cause of recalls. Proper labeling, including nutrition labeling or
labeling for themajor food allergens, is required for most prepared
foods, according to FDA standards and EU regulations. Vision
inspection systems are designed to inspect product labels for any
type of packed goods. They check that trays or meat packages are
properly labeled and that the expiration date is clearly printed. They
offer the option to automatically remove incorrectly labeled products
fromproduction lines.
4
Foreign-BodyControl
Product-inspectionsystems forman
integralpartofany foodsafetyplan.Reducing foreignbodies in the
beginning stages of the supply chain by inspecting all rawmaterials
as they come into the factory helps to reduce foreign-body risk as
early as possible. Checking for foreign bodies again at the end of a
production lineprotectsagainst productioncontaminationand further
increases product safety.
There are many options for making beef, pork or poultry food
production safer. Modern equipment helps you stay ahead in food
safety.
The average cost of a recall is at least $10million and it
directlyaffectsyour reputationwithconsumers.Apreventive
control plan using hygienically designed equipment and
label control helps to prevent recalls.
Recalls in the meat industry are expensive and damaging to your
brand. Common reasons that a food producer has to recall one of his
products are:
• Contamination bymicrobes, such as
sSalmonella
or
Listeria
• Presence of foreignobjects, such asmetal fragments or bones
• Allergen ingredients and food colorings not declared on the
label
•Mislabeling
From1994 to2013, theFoodSafetyand InspectionService (FSIS)
reportednearly1,300meatandpoultry recalls for theUSA, representing
638million pounds (289million kilograms) of product.
Nearly three quarters of these recalls corresponded to the most
severeclassof recalls, inwhich theviolatingproductcouldcauseserious
health consequences.Whilst thenumber of recalls differs from country
to country, microbial contamination is a universal driver of food recalls.
Asapreventivemeasure, foodfirms invest substantial resources to
reduce the probability of food safety hazards.
Weighing and inspection devices are an important part of a quality
assuranceprocess.Consider the following four steps inyour safetyplan
for optimized equipment selection.
1
HygienicDesign
Becausebacteriaandallergensareoneof the
primary causes of contamination in themeat and poultry industry,
a sanitation plan with detailed cleaning instructions is important. An
effective and efficient sanitation process begins with high-quality and
easy-to-clean equipment. Available on the market are scales with
certificates from leading sanitation and hygienic design organizations
thatdeclare that scales, suchas thebenchscale
1
,aredesigned foreasy
and efficient cleaning.
PreventRecalls…
ASafetyPlan inFourSteps
