Food Manufacturing Guest Contributors

31. Update Current Preventive Controls To Bolster Your Pest Control Programs 3/26/2018

    Spring has arrived, and while that means warmer days are ahead, it also means the return of the risk of pests to food manufacturing facilities. Rodents, birds, and insects are risks to food and can be sources of contamination by transmitting pathogenic bacteria, such as E. coli and Salmonella, to your products.

32. The ABCs Of An Allergen Control Plan 3/6/2018

    One way or another, most of us are subject to the statutory and regulatory provisions of FSMA. While some of these provisions are merely codifications of good manufacturing practices (GMPs), others are new and different requirements. Here, I discuss allergen control plans, why you need one, and some of the things that should be included within one.

33. GTINs, Barcodes, And Blockchain: What’s The Future Of Food Traceability? 2/9/2018

    Food manufacturers are working to improve traceability programs and minimize the impact of food recalls, driven in part by FSMA, cost savings, and brand protection. Boosted by the capabilities of today’s technology, such as Blockchain, the industry is moving closer than ever before to swift and precise recalls.

34. Modernized cGMPs To Hazard Analysis: The Backbone Of A Solid Food Safety Plan 2/2/2018

    In my previous column, I described the first step to convert a HACCP plan into a PC food safety plan. Once you have addressed cGMPs and other key requisite programs (SSOPs, etc.), you are ready to start creating and implementing a food safety plan. This article provides the broad brush strokes to create and implement a FSMA-compliant food safety plan.

35. Food Packaging And Brand Protection: It’s Simple, Right? 1/23/2018

    Everyone knows packaging is primarily about the product itself; protecting, presenting, and conveying it. But, what does packaging do for brand integrity? The answer is more complex than you may think.

36. New Product Development: The Challenges Of Decoding The Consumer Voice 1/8/2018

    In the food industry, the consumer’s voice is extremely important to keep in mind as new products and quality improvements are devised every day. We all strive for customer satisfaction, but the customer’s voice, documented through consumer surveys, complaint tracking, and social media, isn’t always satisfaction per se. To interpret the feedback and translate it into formulation changes and flavor concepts can be a skill in and of itself.

37. Why Food Manufacturing Needs An Unorthodox Approach 12/19/2017

    Food manufacturing is not a typical manufacturing operation; it faces unique dilemmas compared to conventional manufacturing. Because of this, the mindset of food manufacturers must also be unique. This article relates conventional manufacturing operations with food manufacturing, shows why the food industry needs a different mindset, and provides approaches to change the mentality of the industry.

38. 5 Food Safety Focus Areas For 2018 12/14/2017

    2017 was an incredible year for food safety filled with challenges in identifying key issues having a pivotal impacton the F&B industry. That said, I believe these five food safety topics brought revolutionary changes to the way the food industry tackled food safety issues and will alter how we approach food safety and how we do business in 2018 and beyond.

39. Third-Party Audits: Trials, Tribulations, And How To Exceed Requirements 12/6/2017

    GFSI schemes are used as the base requirement for many supply chain verification and supplier approval programs, but are customers using them independently? In many incidences, I've noted customers are taking only the GFSI certificate as a verification step without fully understanding the challenges the schemes are having. Here, I review those challenges.

40. Tackling Food Fraud: Inside The EU-China-Safe Partnership 11/28/2017

    Over the past decade, scandals related to adulterated and fake food have made international headlines and generated waves of consumer backlash. This column will explore a new partnership between China and The EU that aims to take down food fraud.