The setting up of traceability and product recall systems in a local bakery.

Abstract

Food crisis in Europe during the past years, such as dioxin in chicken feed and mad cow disease, have raised doubts in the consumer's mind and created a lack of trust and confidence in products put on the market. Traceability of foods has emerged over the past years, both locally and abroad as a voluntary and regulative framework to bridge the gaps between farmer, food producer, food retailer and consumer. Nowadays traceability has been translated into regulation in many countries including Malta. Today, European legislation such as Regulation (EC) 178 of 2002, which has been transposed into local legislation, constitutes a set of requirements that each company manufacturing, distributing, importing and/or exporting products to and from Europe must comply with. There are various definitions of traceability, however they all relate to traceability as a system of recordkeeping designed on the 'one step back - one step forward' approach. This means that a traceability system must be designed in such a way so as to be able to track and trace the flow of a product or product attributes through the production process or supply chain. Traceability is related to: o The origin of food products and ingredients; o The processing and production methods; o The relevant distribution and location of the food product after each delivery.

In a modern food industry plant, where hundreds of tonnes of food ingredients may pass through the factory every day, traceability is an integral part of the safety standards that ensure that the production meets required hygiene and composition standards. In the past 10-15 years, computer technology has made traceability of food possible in new and innovative ways. In the food industry, food safety problems can lead to expensive product recalls due to the immediate health risks posed to consumers. Regulations require that if a problem is found in a food product, food batch or lot, it triggers a total product recall as all supermarket shelves must be cleared as soon as possible. Locally, regulatory agencies request that a recall be completed within forty eight hours. Usually, the producer cannot immediately find out exactly where the problem originated or how many products are contaminated unless a food safety management program and a traceability system are in operation. Total product recalls are a costly measure that attracts media attention. It can do irreparable harm to a supplier or brand in terms of reputation and consumer confidence. A massive and highly publicised recall can erode a company's shareholder value and market share. Furthermore, due to globalisation, a problem in an ingredient or food commodity can affect the world's food trade. Often, consumer confidence is shaken so severely that enormous amounts of money must be spent to regain credibility. A more limited or specialized recall, based on product traceability, can save lives, reduce costs and even limit brand damage. A company with such systems in place will also command greater respect and loyalty from their suppliers, retail customers and consumers. The study concentrated on the setting up of a traceability and recall system in one of the largest bakeries on the island. Current traceability and recall systems at this bakery were assessed and new systems were developed. A paper based traceability system and a semi automated traceability system based on supplier traceability; process traceability and customer traceability were designed. The IT enabled system was preferred by the company to the paper system due to its efficiency, effectiveness and security. Through this system the objective of a traceability system is attained. A recall plan complete with a set of forms was also drafted to assist the bakery to rapidly and completely remove unsafe, mislabelled or other defective food products from household, retail and/or commercial availability. The Recall Plan was compiled in conformity with Guidance Note No. 10 entitled Product Recall and Traceability published in 2002, by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland in view of the fact that guidelines are not available locally.