Food Safety and the Global Supply Chain: The Black Hole?

Recently, China’s tainted milk scandal widened as melamine was
found in products of a second dairy company, after infant formula
contaminated by the chemical was linked to 1,253 cases of infant
kidney stones, as well as the death of two babies.  Milk
powder produced by 22 Chinese dairy producers was found to contain
melamine.  Besides the international milk issues, locally in
the U.S. there have been recent recalls related to tomatoes, frozen
pizza, chicken breasts and other foods.  The need for more and
reliable testing laboratories where you can check these products is
a growing concern on a global basis.

Even though there is a difference between food safety and food
defense, the larger global issue is how to build better visibility,
accountability and reliability in the manufacturing and supply
chain processes.  Though the food industry is highly regulated
by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and United Stated
Department of Agriculture (USDA) in the U.S., the larger problem is
with companies abroad without regulatory controls that provide
outsourced manufacturing and/or distribution services.

So what are the requirements for manufacturers to import and export
food across borders?  Are the controls in place?  Here in
the U.S., there are specific plant requirements that must be
certified in order to either export food out of the county and for
other countries to import food products into the U.S.  The
certifications on both supply chains are country-specific and must
originate in eligible countries from establishments certified by
the country’s inspection service.  Once eligibility is
established, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
determines the specific types of products that can be imported from
the country.

So how does a plant obtain approval to export and/or import food
related products?  Well, the plant must first make sure they
are able to meet any facility or procedural requirements of the
country.  Then, no matter what the country of interest, the
applicant must complete Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)
documentation and submit it through their inspector, front-line
supervisor and district office to the Office of International
Affairs (OIA).   Procedures will vary among countries
depending upon the need for prior plant review or if approval
simply involves registration.  It is important to note that
FSIS does not conduct food inspections in foreign countries or
certify foreign establishments for export to the United
States.  Foreign establishments desiring to export to the
United States must apply to their own national inspection
authority, and that country’s chief inspection official must
certify to FSIS a list of all establishments that meet U.S. import
requirements.

The inspection and certification process can be streamlined with
greater efficiency and reliability through the use of technologies
and integrated business processes.  The common denominator is
an educated and certified workforce.  An ERP solution that
supports the necessary documentation for labeling, inspection,
reporting, auditing and track and trace requirements is a critical
component for the audit and inspection process.  Incorporating
corrective and preventive action support when processes get
misaligned is critical in a system so mistakes are quickly
rectified and do not occur in the future.  The system’s
ability to let users view a product and its recipe and formulation
make-up can not only mitigate corporate risk, but also protect a
company’s brand.