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" ProcessPro is dedicated to meeting the demands of the process manufacturing industry by fulfilling the evolving requirements of customers with the important features that are standard to their industry."
Source : ProcessPro Software
Will Your HACCP Foundation Crumble?
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) is also known as :
Food Safety,
Food Safety Sanitation,
Food Safety Audit,
Food Safety Hazards,
HACCP System,
Foodborne Illness,
Food Processing Industry,
Good Manufacturing Practices,
HACCP Compliance,
Food Safety Regulations,
Food Safety HACCP,
Hazard Analysis,
Hazop,
Sanitation,
HACCP.
ERP: The Solid Foundation to your HACCP Compliance
So often a manufacturing company will strive for HACCP compliance only to fail
because the company has not laid the proper foundation. HACCP, Hazard Analysis and
Critical Control Points, is a management system that requires each segment of the food
processing industry, from the farmer to the consumer, to provide the conditions necessary
to protect food while it is under their control. For the manufacturer, that means providing
adequate facilities and equipment, trained personnel, but most importantly, it means
maintaining compliance with cGMP (current Good Manufacturing Practices).
Compliance with cGMP requires Quality Control procedures, audit trails, lot tracking,
and a validation plan.
The application of an integrated ERP software solution is key to laying a solid
foundation for cGMP and, ultimately, HACCP compliance. An ERP, Enterprise
Resource Planning, software solution designed for the food manufacturer can help
companies meet security and regulatory needs from beginning order entry to product
completion. A fully integrated system will provide supplier control, production
specifications, product traceability and recall capabilities, and more.
Principle 2 of the seven HACCP principles, Determine the Critical Control Points,
is the step that determines where controls are needed to prevent or eliminate a food safety
hazard, or at least reduce it to an acceptable level. These points are located at any step
where a potential hazard has been established, and will be different from company to
company. Once a manufacturing company's CCP team had identified its critical control
points, it then determines what measure of control is needed at each point and how the
control is going to be executed. With the right ERP software, the manufacturing control
points are easy to facilitate and maintain.
One example of a Critical Control Point for many manufacturers is the incoming
products or raw materials for use in their products must first be in compliance with
HACCP and cGMP. Consequently, a company striving for supplier control must have
proper tools in place to ensure the quality of the product received. An effective ERP
solution provides the controls necessary to quarantine purchased products or raw
materials until they are tested. This type of quality control software should allow only
authorized users to define test ranges and target values. Once the raw material or
purchased product has been deemed acceptable in quality, it can then move on to the next
stage of production. Again, only authorized personnel should be able to enter the passing
or failing results. In the event that the product fails the quality testing, the company can
avoid the use of that material or product. Thus, the company remains in compliance with
cGMP and HACCP principles, and relieves themselves of a large recall headache later on
or other potentially dangerous outcomes.
Another Critical Control Point common to food manufacturers, is the ability to
define, control, and regulate product specifications that apply to all ingredients, products,
and packaging materials. Specifications provided in writing are required for HACCP.
However, a successful ERP solution will do more than just write the specifications, it will
create formulas with exact ingredient percentages or actual quantities, manage and record
intermediate mixtures, provide manufacturing instructions with embedded mixture
formulas, and list ingredients in the filling sequence. The software should also follow the
product instructions through to packaging and allow for multiple packaging
combinations.
Finally and most importantly, another example of a Critical Control Point
universal for food manufacturers is the traceability and recall capability of their products.
All raw materials and products should be lot-coded with a recall system in place so that
rapid and complete traces and recalls can be done when product retrieval is necessary.
Each batch, when using an ERP system, will automatically be given a lot number, bin
location, and date. This information is saved and/or printed in the form of a Transaction
Audit Log or a Lot Tracking Report. These reports provide the user with information
about where items have been used in the manufacturing process. These reports typically
include information about where the product originated and where it was subsequently
shipped, providing a complete audit trail of activity.
Stir Foods, a specialty food manufacturer in Orange, CA, recently underwent a
Good Manufacturing Practices and Food Safety Systems Audit. Every product since the
inception of this company has been logged into their integrated ERP system. The auditor
from a local food safety and quality inspection organization was amazed at Stir Foods'
ability to locate any randomly selected product by lot number. In fact, the minimum time
requirement to locate a product is 2 hours, but Stir Foods was able to locate the products
in less than 15 minutes! A record as never had been seen by the individual auditor.
While Stir Foods has never been required to do a recall on its products for safety reasons,
they are exceptionally confident that if a recall was ever necessary, their ERP software
would help them track their products before disaster strikes.
How strong is your company's foundation? Will your company face the potential
catastrophe of failure to maintain cGMP and HACCP compliance? Or, will your
company secure its foundation with the implementation of successful ERP software?
Taking action to ensure product quality control, audit trails, and lot tracking will lay the
solid foundation your company needs to follow the HACCP principles as well as provide
your company with a solid future.
- Shanon Odegaard
Resources:
"Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point Principles and Application Guidelines," US
Food and Drug Administration, US Department of Agriculture, and National
Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods, August 14, 1997.
"Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points," Wikipedia, September 20, 2007.
"Key Facts: The Seven HACCP Principles," Food Safety and Inspection Service,
January 1998.
About the Author
Shanon Odegaard, Quality Systems Manager, ProcessPro® software. Shanon is a Certified
Consultant for Sage Pro Series Accounting System with 13 years of experience implementing
ERP software and consulting in the process manufacturing industry with focuses in GMP and
FDA requirements.