The latest software performs double duty: helping you respond to FDA demands plus control plant processes.
On December 6, 2004, the FDA released its final rule on the Establishment and Maintenance of Records to Enhance the Security of the US Food Supply Under the Bioterrorism Act. In a nutshell, it says that if you are a food manufacturer or a transporter, you must maintain records that trace and track the source(s), manufacturing processes, and destination of every product. The good news is that application software vendors are ready with products to help food and beverage manufacturers meet the FDA's demands. The added bonus is that these products will also help get manufacturing processes and inventory under control and save on energy costs.
According to the FDA, the deadline to have systems in place is the end of 2005 for large companies (500+ employees), middle of 2006 for smaller companies (11-499 employees), and the end of 2006 for very small companies (under ten employees). (For more information, see Beyond the Bioterrorism Act on page 41 in this issue.) What specifically does the FDA want? According to Jim Brown, VP of strategic sales at Wonderware, "Food manufacturers must be able to correlate their products back to the source(s) of all ingredients, the dates received, the trucking company that delivered them-in short, all the information about each and every ingredient." Brown says information concerning plant floor insecticides, handwashing programs for employees, screens on docks, and detailed process information needs to be included as well. And of course, producers will have to keep records of where all their products go and what carriers are used.