Food industry needs a wake-up call

Raising awareness through education

At ERIKS, we are dedicated to convince manufacturers and machine builders of the importance (and compliance) of current legislation. This is the only way to avoid major food safety problems.

Fortunately, some manufacturers are very progressive. When we visited an American pharmaceutical company, everyone was called together. The buyer, the technical department, the quality manager - anyone who had anything to do with the topic of traceability. 

After a session like this, you notice that people 'wake up'. Immediately, employees realise the importance of the issue and start acting on it: a mechanism of alertness and pro-activity comes into play. As a result, a quality manager would comment: "Hey, what's happening here should not happen in our production line". Due to the processes that have been discussed and established in the session, everyone is alert and observant. This is just one of the ways in which we help companies become aware of the issue of traceability in the chain.

In large companies, however, we also experience the opposite. For example, when the technical department needs parts quickly and because of the rush is not interested in a certificate or traceability. That's a risk.

Recalls

There are many recalls in the food chain, especially when it comes to nuts, legumes, fruits and fish. What Mars experienced in 2016, when they dropped a cap in their production line, doesn’t have much to do with traceability per se. What is does show is the enormous impact of a recall. You can imagine the expenses of recalling your product in 60 countries because your processes were not in order. 

Another example is the case of the well-known cornflakes. The smell and taste of the cornflakes were affected due to package migration. Smaller companies would have to file for bankruptcy for having millions of boxes taken out of commerce. When companies do not take responsibility, consequences of a claim are immense.

During an inspection, companies will sometimes show a slip of paper, marked EC1935/2004, stating: "This is a certificate that my supplier gave me." But you don't get away with it that easily. Traceability is just one piece of the puzzle you have to complete. What about correct migration values? You need a certificate, a DOC (document of compliance) that contains a reference to your technical drawing (number), specifically linked to an order. A slip stating that a specific material complies with 'something' is not enough for an audit.

Simplifying the hard stuff

When a company asks for our help, we have all of their departments come together: purchasing, sales and production, but especially quality control (as they have a mandate). Quality control decides what will or will not happen in the production process. This department also understands the importance of traceability. We make all these steps transparent and verifiable.

Sometimes it is even used against us, that we ‘overcomplicate’ matters. This is not the case. Our method ensures that your business complies with current legislation. The legislation-standard has been in force since 2004, and may be fined since. We are not overcomplicating, we are simplifying the hard stuff.

This applies not only to our industrial plastics, but also to piping systems, seals, hoses and all components that come into contact with food. And, we practice what we preach. ERIKS is itself audited by Lloyds. Within our facilities, we keep our stocks separated between Food Grade and standard assortment to avoid contamination. In turn, we audit our suppliers. This way, we can guarantee complete traceability.