We’ve all heard it many times within the Food and Beverage industry—if you haven’t documented or recorded it, then it’s as if you didn’t do it at all. Proof is in the action of putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and having something that demonstrates that you say what you do and confirms that you do what you say. Documentation of your food safety and quality programs and practices is critical in implementing an effective Food Safety Management System (FSMS) and providing a clear picture of “say what you do.”

On the flip side, keeping accurate, complete and accessible records of all your activities that occur within your FSMS provides proof that you “do what you say.” Without both of these components, you will not be able to show compliance to the various requirements that a normal Food and Beverage business needs to meet—whether we are talking about FSMA, GFSI or your consumers.

The FDA has rolled out the 6^th FSMA rule called Sanitary Transport. This is an exceptionally important regulation as there hasn’t really been any designated regulatory requirements around this area within our system to date. While everyone imagines that it is good business sense to ensure that all transportation of our food supply is handled in a safe and wholesome manner (and therefore a common best practice), trends within the industry would indicate otherwise.

When we think about technology in the food and beverage industry, we may think along the lines of enhancements to how we process the food, more innovative product ideas, and more unique methods for how to package and distribute food. But technology has also started to prove a worthy approach to how we deal with food safety. There is a reason why the profession we work in is called food science. It’s because science goes into every step of the supply chain process. From how a farmer figures out the best time of year to plant a vegetable, to how a manufacturer processes it, to how the retailer stores and sells it, to how a consumer prepares it—science is the basis for not only making a high quality product, but also a wholesome, safe one. Technology is one of the many tools that scientists use to expand their knowledge and support advances within our world.

Let’s take a look at some current and emerging technologies that are helping to change how the food and beverage industry is managing food safety.

Fostering Trust is Fundamental to Future of the Food Industry. We Explore Supply Chain Vulnerabilities in the Context of Social Crisis Management

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I recently attended a food safety conference where I presented on the topic of 3^rd party audits, specifically around expectations and trends in supplier audit programs. As I was preparing for my session, I decided that it wouldn’t make sense to only talk about supplier audits since most everyone in the audience could be considered both a customer and a supplier within the food supply chain. And we have all been dealing with the increasing burden of audit requirements. Whether we are talking about GFSI or ISO, customer due diligence, supplier verification or now FSMA, having a comprehensive audit management program is a necessary component of your Food Safety Management System (FSMS).

As most food and beverage professionals know, there are some definite differences in the various sectors of our industry on how we handle food. Manufacturing plants have very different Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS) and practices than a restaurant or grocery store. But we all deal with the same hazards and risks and can, in most cases, use the same resources and tools. One tool that is becoming more popular in all sectors of the food and beverage industry is the internal audit. Internal audits are quite common at the corporate level and tend to be used within a number of departments, the financial one being most common. But the individual food handling locations (manufacturing sites, restaurants, stores) can also benefit greatly from conducting routine internal audits.

When consumers ask where their food came from, the answer isn’t “the supermarket”. These days, they’re looking for provenance, traceability, accountability.

Consumers increasingly call the shots in terms of supply and demand... so how do you ensure your business manages supply chain risk and keeps customers happy?

 I recently had the pleasure of attending the inaugural Food Litigation ExecuSummit where I met with a group of people I hadn’t had much interaction with in the past—food law/litigation and food liability insurance professionals. Yes, I’ve worked with my in-house legal group during my various Food Safety and Quality Assurance (FSQA) positions to ensure that documents going out to external sources were properly worded and conveyed an appropriate message. And I’ve worked with insurance partners when dealing with employee and customer health and safety incidents. But never had I been in a room with dozens of legal professionals solely focused on learning more about food safety and how to deal with the changing industry trends and regulations. It was an educational experience for me and I hope that the group was able to learn a bit more about the industry from me as I shared some amusing (and sometimes alarming) stories from my FSQA experiences.

I would like to share with you some of the key takeaways from the conference.