Summary of the UK 2021 food report
FSA has released their annual food standards report reviewing food industry trends and changes after the pandemic and the Brexit, here are the impacts on your business:
Since the beginning of COVID-19, in conjunction with the departure from the EU, the UK’s food system was greatly affected in many aspects, including food and feed safety, restaurant compliance and imported food monitoring.
Every country possesses it’s own food safety standards, and has potential food dangers when imported or exported. The summary of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) Report 2021 contains:
The Nation’s Plate
Data shows that over the past ten years, the nation’s nutrient intake stayed consistent, but although the sugar intake decreased overall, consumers eat more than the recommended dosage with about 28% of England adults living with obesity as of 2019. The average weight of adult-age Brits increased with the lack of physical activity and the change in the way adults ate throughout the pandemic – showing an overindulgence in sugar-filled and fatty foods and not enough portions of fibers, fruits, vegetables and fish. But who is responsible for this?
Average consumption of free sugars as a proportion of daily total energy (2020)
Source: Public Health England NDNS: Diet and physical activity – a follow-up study during COVID-19
Average daily saturated fat consumption as a proportion of daily total energy (2020)
Source: Public Health England NDNS: Diet and physical activity – a follow-up study during COVID-19
According to research from the FSA and FSS’s (The UK Public’s Interests, Needs and Concerns Around Food research), 22% of people in the UK order from takeout and 23% order delivery services at least once a week – mostly coming from young adults or those from higher income households.
The factors found to influence our food choices in recent years according to this data include:
- The price of food: Healthy foods are “priced out” for most people and difficult to keep both wallet and body healthy
- Health concerns: After education over the years, 49% of people interviewed alerted to avoid food with trans fats, palm oil, preservatives, or E numbers
- Eating trends: More people are turning to a “flexitarian” diet to reduce their meat intake
- Ethical concerns: the treatment of animals in the food chain would be a factor of not eating meats; the plastic waste would be another key factor in environmental concern
Impacts from the pandemic on food consumption choices:
- Having healthy eating is tougher to the consumers due to their financial situations
- The pandemic allows more people to cook at home and have healthier options
- Consumers tended to eat more snacks during the lockdown
- More online grocery shopping
Public priorities for the future (research from The FSA and FSS’s The UK Public’s Interests, Needs and Concerns Around Food research) include:
Priority 1: Ensure equitable access to healthy, safe, and affordable foods
- More people intend to purchase healthier foods with an affordable price
Priority 2: Maintain & strengthen food safety and hygiene standards:
- 43% of consumers enforce clearer labelling of food ingredients and allergens is the key priority
Priority 3: Act on additives and processed foods
- People are aware that unhealthy foods contain trans fats, palm oil, preservatives, or E numbers
(Download the full report from the FSA for more priorities, or request demo here for enhancing your business)
Going global:
% of total UK imports sourced from the EU and from other regions, 2017-21
- Around 40 million tons of food are imported from abroad every year; the EU remains by far the biggest supplier, accounting for over 90% of all beef, dairy, eggs, and pork products imported into the UK and nearly two-thirds (65%) of all food and feed not of animal origin
- Despite recent volatility in import patterns, there are no signs of any immediate or wholesale shift in trading flows following the UK’s departure from the EU, though EU imports of fish, lamb and mutton, and pork have all fallen between 2019 and 2021.
- Although there is no evidence that the standards of EU imports have fallen, the FSA and FSS believe the current situation does reduce our ability to prevent foods that do not meet the UK’s high standards from being placed on our market. The lack of import controls means we are not receiving official assurance from the exporting country that imports meet the UK’s high food and feed safety standards; the absence of border checks could also affect how we identify and respond to safety risks in future, with additional resource required by the UK to maintain levels of food safety assurance for these imports
The impact of EU departure on import controls:
- The protocols on Ireland/Northern Ireland took effect on 1 January 2021 and requires Northern Ireland to apply EU import requirements on any products entering the EU regulatory zone from outside the EU
- Not receiving official assurance from the exporting countries that those imports meet the UK’s high food and feed safety standards
To keep rapid alerts available from the latest news from the world, Safefood 360° RISK provides alert system to monitor. Safefood 360° RISK combines both RASFF and World Bank data for the most up to date news and risk alerts and monitor safety alerts worldwide.
Safe and Sound:
- There are 2,363 reported food incidents in the UK in 2021, down from 2019 (2,598) but remains similar number to 2020 (2,261).
- Contamination by harmful micro-organisms was the most frequently reported hazard: 584 cases (browse our technical datasheet to understand how to prevent the harm from the hazards)
- There have been increasing numbers in incidents involving poultry meat in the UK from 2019 – 2021 (83 to 238 cases); especially seen in Salmonella in breaded chicken (download our datasheet about the Salmonella to know the prevention of it)
- Dietetic food incidents have nearly doubled since the previous year (128 cases to 207)
Total number of product recall information notices issued in the UK
Source: FSA/FSS Incident Management Systems
There are 59 cases of recall in the UK in 2021.
Once the food incident has been identified, the food product may have to be withdrawn or recalled, not only costing food businesses money and reputation, but also directly affects the public’s health.
Most of the incidents can be avoided by the good management procedure (HACCP) and by managing the food process with Safety plan management solution. Request a demo to learn more about how Safefood 360° helps you to reduce the chances of food related incidents.
Informing Consumers
The UK’s departure from the EU prompted a series of actions designed to minimise disruption, including new legislation, changes to compositional standards and origin labelling. A new UK Nutrition and Health Claims Committee (UKNHCC) has also been established to provide expert advice and scrutiny on food marketing claims. Existing arrangements remain in Northern Ireland under the terms of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.
The food labelling must contain the information below:
- Name and description
- Ingredients list
- Nutritional information
- Best before or use by date
- Warnings if the food contains additives such as caffeine
- Places of Origin
Food Labels
Source: Our Food 2021, FSA report
From a consumer’s point of view, this has had very little noticeable impact to date – the immediate focus has been on maintaining continuity with existing EU laws to minimise any disruption to the supply chain. However, for food business owners, some important foundations for a post-EU approach to food information standards have been put in place:
- Food law changes into British law
- Removing mutual recognition of food composition standards from 1 Oct 2022
- Changes to address and country of origin labelling
What if you have over 500 products in your food business? Our Food Safety Management Solution is designed to improve your business processes within the food industry, allowing you to easily pass audits and maintain compliance with GFSI recognised food safety standards. Browse our Food Safety Management Solution to learn how it helps your business and your supplier chain.
If you are ready to learn more now, request a demo with one of our food safety experts.
Keeping It Clean
The current level of legal compliance with hygiene standards across food and feed businesses in the UK:
Keeping to monitor the latest legilastion is not easy. Safefood 360° provides an integrated platform for your food safety management and supplier quality management. The software is built by a group of food experts to customise what you really need to secure the assurance and make your aduit become easy. If you have any questions about your current FSMS, SQMS or RISK Assessment systems, submit a demo request for a professional consultation to get your business into next level.
Protecting Our Food: Effectively Tackling Food Fraud
in blogGeo-political and “black swan” events in the last couple of years have re-emphasised how crucial it is for the global food supply chain to be strengthened.
With the curtain now falling on a year of global elections, it remains to be seen how trade and policy will affect what and how we eat.
The massive uptick of Artificial Intelligence solutions has created a deluge of information overload to the point that roughly only about 30% of data in Enterprises is actually used.
Finally, and unfortunately, rising costs across manufacturing and delivery also mean we need to be more vigilant than ever against bad actors in the supply chain who are motivated by economic gain rather than moral concern to the end customer that what they produce is safe.
Where food fraud does occur, it can quickly undo a significant amount of good will for all good faith actors otherwise.
With fraudulent activities ranging from the misrepresentation of a product’s origin to the blatant substitution or imitation of the product itself, the impact is widespread, affecting everything from economic stability to wider public safety.
Addressing this issue requires a multi-faceted approach involving stringent regulations, advanced technologies, and collaborative efforts across the entire supply chain.
In this blog, we’ll explore the key challenges posed by food fraud, examine most common high-risk products, and highlight effective strategies to strengthen food supply integrity and restore consumer confidence in the products they purchase.
Understanding the Threat of Food Fraud
Food fraud, as defined by the UK Food Standards Agency, involves “deliberately placing food on the market, for financial gain, with the intention of deceiving the consumer.”
Such practices can be harmful to consumers, who may be misled about the authenticity of food or animal feed, often at the risk of their health.
Factors such as intense and increasing cost-cutting pressures on suppliers and the potential for substantial profits have unfortunately resulted in food fraud becoming a more common practice.
Sometimes it can be as ‘innocuous’ as an ingredient being called something it’s not, such as “Manuka honey” from a different region or plant to where it is native, or outright replacement of ingredients such as saffron being substituted for turmeric or safflower.
In more severe cases, its practice can result in tragic outcomes.
Events such as the Melamine scandal or Horsegate highlight the need for rigorous monitoring and enforcement.
Food fraud typically occurs under the following scenarios:
Certain products are subject to a higher risk of food fraud due to their economic value, production complexity, or susceptibility to adulteration.
Items like olive oil, fish, organic products, dairy, grains, honey, maple syrup, coffee, tea, spices, wine, and fruit juices are common targets.
Olive oil, for instance, often faces adulteration with cheaper oils due to its high market value, while the diversity of wine varieties makes it an easy target for dilution or counterfeiting.
As global food markets grow, ensuring the integrity of food products becomes increasingly vital, with consumer trust and health at stake.
Proactively Addressing Fraud
There are two keys things to consider for beginning to tackle fraud; these are 1) what can be done on a micro level (i.e., within your own supply chain), and 2) what can be done on a macro level (i.e., globally).
At a local site level, it is paramount to remember that for fraud detection and horizon scanning to be effective, it cannot be something static.
The dangers and threats in this area is constantly evolving and so a proactive approach that reflects reality and acceptance of this should be the norm.
In the same way that a HACCP or Food Defense plan would be updated following a process change, so should your TACCP and VACCP whenever there is a supplier or product change.
Active monitoring and threat detection from reputable sources such as EFSA or tools like Fera’s Horizon Scan should be considered.
The good news is that there are many active agencies and departments tackling this issue at regional levels which can support you while also cumulatively constituting a robust global framework, albeit one with some vulnerabilities.
In the United Kingdom, the National Food Crime Unit is a part of the Food Standards Agency which covers incidents within England, Wales and Northern Ireland, while working closely with the Scottish Food Crime and Incidents Unit.
With a mandate to address Food Crime, it specifically focuses on:
While the FSA’s core responsibility is to safeguard public health in its area of remit, it does have handy tools and practices that can be applied no matter where you are based.
Speaking earlier this year at the BRCGS conference in London, one of the tools it advocates for detecting fraud is a handy mnemonic for categorising threats: F-O-O-D C-R-I-M-E-S.
These are areas where threats can occur and where we must be vigilant, and include:
Considering the above will allow any business to gather and structure their intelligence, conduct thorough investigations, engage with their stakeholders to shore up weaknesses, implement more robust checks and processes, and internalise a more cohesive culture in their organisation that fosters continuous improvement.
What other proactive steps can you take to mitigate fraud?
Efforts from organisations like the NFCU play a crucial role in safeguarding the integrity of the food supply chain and protecting public health and consumer interests.
However, we cannot rely on these as a sole measure.
A guiding principle for everyone should be the WHO’s mantra of 2019 that “food safety is everyone’s business”.
If you are an actor or an agent involved in the creation, supply, manufacturing, distribution or service of food, you are responsible for its authenticity just as much as its safety.
In an age of big data and over whelming news cycles, it can be difficult knowing where to get started.
Depending on what part of the supply chain you are involved in, there are multiple options you can consider.
Applications such as Horizon Scanning, Process Analytical Software that uses Spectrometers or Chromatography, Genomics or DNA testing, or comprehensive Quality Management systems that combine Supplier Quality Management with features such as Statistical Analysis tools that can detect anomalies or link directly into Environmental instruments for real time monitoring and providence of data lineage.
We are proud that we offer a tool that helps address the last part of this picture.
Our robust solutions for Food Safety and Supplier Quality Management can assist you in building and instituting a culture of resilience and adaptability against food fraud and crime.
This means you can have peace of mind and ensure trust and confidence both internally with your staff and externally with your consumers, customers and stakeholders.
Preventing potential risks and identifying market vulnerabilities is crucial for businesses to avoid adverse scenarios that can impact brand image, deteriorate customers trust, and ultimately affect the overall company profitability.
Granular levels of control for risk and vulnerabilities assessments can enable a more effective strategy which entails cross-checking supplier risks and vulnerabilities with your own internal processes.
Regular score-carding and reviews of suppliers can help you proactively prepare contingency plans and maintain high standards for proactive future responses when black swan events occur.
If searching for a new vendor, having workflows that streamline pre-assessments can enable faster sourcing when a tried and trusted vendor is not able to deliver.
Obviously, and almost most importantly, this goes without saying, but all of the technologies, frameworks and processes in the world can amount to nought and not substitute for a poor culture.
Equipping your employees with knowledge about the various types of food fraud and how to recognise potential risks in their operations is paramount.
Initiatives like BRCGS’ Food Safety Culture Excellence train and engage, your customers and the results speak for themselves when staff are empowered to identify and report concerns proactively, preventing minor issues from escalating into significant problems.
Tackling fraud is not a simple issue nor is it one that we can rest on our laurels with.
To comprehensively address these risks we must be active, vigilant and continuous in our monitoring to ensure that production is safe for all.
It is abundantly clear that in order to do this while juggling the demands of modern life, technological solutions need to be implemented and can help mitigate some of this burden.
In at least the areas of Food Safety and Supplier Quality Management, we can play a small part in helping your business protect your operations and safeguard your brand equity and customer health.
To see how we can help you foster a continuous culture of resilience and create a more trustworthy food industry for everyone, please request a demonstration or click the button below for more information.
How we ensure trust and security in our software platform
in blogFrom horsegate to leafy greens, and covid to the Ever Given, the last decade has highlighted how complex and just-in-time supply chains have left us more vulnerable than ever.
In parallel, Moore’s law tells us that technology doubles every 18 months, meaning our exposure, and reliance, on digital solutions has become more dependent than ever.
In this rapidly evolving environment, data governance and its security are no longer an option, but a must-have, and honestly are now often more of a pre-requisite at the start of due diligence than the questions on quality management.
As companies rely more and more on cloud-based platforms to streamline operations, protecting sensitive information is more critical today than it ever was.
At Safefood, we are backed by the legacy of more than 180 years of LGC, our parent company, of providing tried and trusted solutions that underpin assurance and quality at all levels of food manufacturing and its supply chain.
Of course, we don’t rest on this legacy and take practical steps to ensure we honour this tradition in the face of evolving threats and disruption.
For us, ensuring data security goes beyond compliance. It’s also an opportunity to differentiate yourself from the competitors.
This blog is inspired by our recent e-book on platform security and takes a transparent look at the measures we deploy to protect your data security and provide you with confidence that you are operating to the best standards and practices.
Security and Compliance: Building Trust Through Proven Solutions
We understand that you have entrusted us with your data and the security of it is paramount.
When you outsource critical business operations you are placing a high degree of trust in the vendor’s ability to maintain, and often exceed, the standards that you provide to your own customers.
We value this trust and strive to deliver best-in-class solutions that safeguard and protect your data security, privacy and compliance practices.
To us, data security means more than just meeting standards; it’s about ensuring peace of mind, and we strive to demonstrate our commitment to this by ensuring we are audited and credentialed.
By adhering to SOC 2 (Type I and Type II) protocols, we offer rigorous security controls to protect customer data, giving you confidence in the safety and integrity of your information.
If needed, we can provide a full copy of our SOC2 report to your technical terms during your due diligence.
Adapting to Your Business’s Needs
The foundation of our platform is built on secure Microsoft .NET technologies and hosted within Microsoft Azure cloud, giving you an enterprise-class solution with enhanced performance, scalability and flexibility to scale as your business’ needs grow and evolve.
This means you need options to the platforms and hardware you can deploy.
To this end, our solution is browser-agnostic and compatible with all systems that have internet access.
So whether you operate Edge, Firefox, Chrome, Opera or something else across Windows, macOS, or Linux, you won’t have any issues logging in.
If you need to operate offline, we also offer dedicated mobile applications available in the Apple and Android stores that allow you to record and take audit data with you anywhere in the world and upload the results later at a time that’s convenient for you.
This ensures your data is always available and accessible, whether you are in the office, on-site, on the move, in a black-spot or even in the air.
A cynic reading this might think it sounds well and good, but this is all “inwards” looking to the platform – and in an age of hyperconnectivity, what about integrations?
Well ,the good news is that our platform integrates seamlessly with your broader IT ecosystem through advanced API support.
Our technical teams will assist your developers and ensure tight and seamless integrations using REST APIs.
Finally, running though out the software is StatusBI, our out of the box integration with leading Business Intelligence software to provide you reports that dive deep into your business data.
This data is held in data warehouses to optimize the reports performance and enables easy extraction for the use with your own enterprise Bl tools should you wish.
Data Ownership and Control: Your Data, Our Responsibility
You will always retain full ownership of your data.
Under GDPR, we are considered a data processor and we will serve as the conduit for your business needs. In line with this, nothing of your use is disclosed to third parties, except as required by law or as directed by you (such as using our Supplier Portal).
As part of our role, we only use data to provide you the best service and experience, such as troubleshooting, detecting, and repairing problems which might be affecting the operation of services, improving new features, and protecting you against emerging threats.
All data, both in transit and at rest, within our platform, is encrypted, utilizing industry-standard encryption protocols like AES265, TLS 1.2 or better encryption.
Nonetheless, to further strengthen security, Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) through smartphone devices, email or SMS can be enabled at both the user or business levels.
Moreover, our data retention complies with numerous international codes for information security, including the E.U. Data Protection Directive (95/46/EC), the EU General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679, ISO/IEC 27001:2005 and with the requirements of FDA 21 CFR Part II and EU Annex II.
Finally, in the event that you need to leave the platform for any reason, following the off-boarding process, data is securely destroyed, ensuring your sensitive information does not persist in our systems longer than needed.
Fault Tolerance and Continuous Protection
Our platform is designed to be fault-tolerant and redundant, ensuring that operations continue semi-automatically even in the event of failure.
Redundancies are built into the infrastructure, enabling a quick recovery with minimal intervention and the platform is monitored 24/7 to ensure effective migration of data should it be needed.
Furthermore, regular penetration tests, vulnerability scans, and secure coding assessments using internationally recognized and accredited third-party security tools and specialists are constantly conducted.
If a catastrophic event was to occur with a data center, all instances are geo replicated and will be made available at a back up location and available to ensure you have continued use of the platform and do not experience any disruption.
How important is data security to you?
In today’s interconnected world, data security isn’t just about compliance or a regulatory checkbox – it’s a competitive and strategic advantage and a key driver of business resilience.
We are committed to delivering industry-leading security that not only protects your sensitive data but also strengthens your operational processes while ensuring compliance with the latest global privacy and regulatory standards.
By partnering with us, you’re not just choosing a platform – you’re investing in a solution that continuously evolves to meet emerging security challenges while safeguarding the future of your business.
If data security is your top priority and you’d like to explore how we provide comprehensive protection, we invite you to visit our Platform & Data Security webpage for a detailed overview of our robust security features.
The Costs of Food Safety Non-Compliance: How to Avoid Financial Pitfalls
in Food Safety Knowledge, blogCompliance to food safety regulations is not only a legal requirement but it is also a crucial factor in protecting your brand’s reputation and ultimately, its financial health.
It goes without saying, but more importantly than anything, it is also an ethical requirement and a reminder of WHO’s mission of recent years that food safety is everyone’s business.
However, although the vast majority of production is done with the best of intent, sometimes, and unfortunately, either through design, accident or happenstance, noncompliance is unavoidable.
When this happens, there are real world costs that can quickly accumulate.
Beyond just the cost of a recall itself, the hidden costs of non-compliance can be substantial and wide ranging to your organisation.
In the blog below, we look at some of the direct and indirect financial impacts of non-compliance and what proactive compliance measures and strategies can be adopted to mitigate these risks.
The Direct Financial Impact of Food Safety Non-Compliance
The financial repercussions of food safety non-compliance can significantly damage the future of a company.
No matter where you are producing or exporting products to, understanding what these are will help you to highlight and stress the importance of preventive measures when making any process changes or submitting any business proposal.
Failure to comply with food safety regulations can lead to substantial fines and penalties from regulatory authorities.
In the absolute worse case scenario, your business may need to cease production either while an investigation is occurring, or while the appropriate steps are taken to redress and fix the nonconformance’s you have attained.
If levies or fines are applied, these financial repercussions can quickly add up and place significant strain on your company’s budget.
For instance, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not been shy in the past to issue fines that can reach millions of dollars for serious violations.
Needless to say, if money is tight, this may impact your future plans and initiatives as well.
Recalling products from the market due to safety concerns is one of the most immediate and severe financial repercussions following a non-compliance incident which can be harmful.
When this happens the expenses related to logistics, disposal and the production of replacement goods can quickly rack up.
Typically, small businesses tend to make up the majority of cases where goods are recalled and unfortunately, these are often the ones that are most affected.
In the past the median costs of recalls have been estimated anywhere from $33,000 to $10 million USD.
Without casting aspirations, a quick google search can easily highlight unfortunate real world scenarios where companies, either willingly or unwittingly non complying have found themselves bankrupt once the dust has settled and their costs have to be processed.
In tragic circumstances with bad actors intentionally acting without regard, this can result in life long jail sentences, but even in the more earnest scenarios, the legal processes can have serious impact.
If you find yourself the unfortunate position of having legal action taken against you there can be a host of charges, fees and sunken costs that quickly accrue.
If your company already has inhouse legal counsel, some of these costs are lessened by not having to go externally, but there might be an opportunity cost to your business where the time and energy of these resources may be spent on other value serving activities.
Of course, even if you are in a defendable situation and manage to resolve relatively unscathed, you may still need to compromise through settlements or damages.
The Indirect Financial Impact of Food Safety Non-Compliance
While the direct financial impacts of food safety non-compliance, such as fines, recall costs, and legal fees, are readily identifiable, the indirect costs can often be more insidious yet equally detrimental to a company’s financial standing.
These indirect implications can arise from diminished consumer trust, increased insurance premiums, and the loss of market opportunities, all of which can compound over time.
A brand that suffers from non-compliance may find itself navigating a lasting reduction in customer loyalty, as consumers become increasingly wary of products that compromise their health and safety.
Furthermore, the financial strain placed on resources during compliance investigations and remediation efforts can divert capital away from innovation and growth initiatives.
By understanding these indirect financial impacts, businesses can implement robust food safety strategies that not only ensure compliance but also enhance brand resilience in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
Consumer trust is essential the to the health, success and overall survival of your brand, but in an age of increased access to information and awareness, trust in the food industry is rapidly decreasing.
Your brand reputation may suffer following any incident that causes any level of adverse effect on a consumer.
Regardless of the severity of the incident itself, whether it’s a food safety issue, or even just a breach of Packers rule, the impact and relationship with the consumer can have a long lasting affect.
Consumers tend to lose trust in brands associated with food safety incidents such as recalls and lack of transparency, and when this happens, it may quickly translate to decreased sales and market share.
Once consumer trust is compromised, regaining it can be a significant task.
Scandals such as horse gate, recalls, and overall increasing costs under the guise of inflation despite record profits have all affect consumer sentiment.
In the UK, the trust in Food Index has shown its second greatest drop with only gas and electricity suppliers losing more trust.
In the US, roughly 25% of adults trust information about their food and how it’s produced, however, the trust level for Gen Z consumers is only at 17%.
In today’s digital age, where information spreads rapidly, the repercussions of losing consumer trust can be particularly severe, impacting a brand’s reputation for years to come.
Still it is not all doom and gloom and there are options to repair this.
With technology so ever present at every step of the food supply chain and in the hands of consumers post consumption, there are more opportunities than ever to reach the consumer and engage them to dispel this scrutiny.
While proprietary production processes need to be protected, your brand can now meet these consumers where they are, and provide clarity in more ways than ever before.
As Dan Farney, the chair of the United Soybean Board has said, “we can all play distinct and important roles in regaining consumer trust”.
To regain trust, companies must prioritize transparency and effective communication, often combined with self-sanction actions and clear information-sharing strategies.
However, as indicated by IFT, rebuilding trust is challenging, especially when consumers are overwhelmed with negative information.
How you deal with a crisis and the relationships you have already created in advance of it which are based on trust and true influence can be the key in consumer sentiment and the decision to give you a second chance, before you ever compromised your first.
This almost goes without saying as it is the common thread through all of the above reasons, but any unplanned event is a disruption that takes time, energy and resources away from your business plans.
Hopefully, the disruption is minimal and your business can contain and pivot exposure to the affected product, production line or site, but it could be wise to consider the ripple effect that may emanate when this happens.
When an unfortunate event occurs, whether it’s a halted production line, supply chain interruption, or workforce inefficiencies, the important thing is you are ready and in position to deploy a responsive and well-constructed action plan.
Strategies to Mitigate Risks and Avoid Financial Pitfalls
It is wise for all businesses to incorporate contingency plans and strategies for events.
Ignoring their invaluable use when needed, their preparation and maintenance has an opportunity cost that must be associated to them.
Naturally, it should be hoped they will never be needed, and in which case, the work could be perceived by some to redundant, but in the planning and preparation of these, there are opportunities to review processes and make adjustments for improvement.
Implementing effective strategies to mitigate risks associated with food safety non-compliance is crucial for maintaining operational integrity and financial stability.
Proactively addressing the risks through robust systems, process improvements, risk analysis, audits and application of Six Sigma principles will allow you to create a solid foundation that mitigates and all but eliminates the adverse impacts you may have.
The following points outline key strategies that organizations can adopt to enhance their food safety practices and safeguard against significant losses.
Implementing robust food safety management systems like BRCGS, SQF, or FSSC2200 or any other GFSI recognised scheme can significantly enhance your compliance efforts.
Each of these schemes have its own advantages and provide a passport to your organisation to do business with retailers globally who will have assurance and confidence that you are doing and striving to do the best at all times.
Once implemented these schemes require vast amounts of documentation and resources to maintain and can be a struggle for many businesses.
If this is happening to you or you would like to pre-empt this, our digital solutions can eliminate a lot of this non value added time by providing real-time analytics, automating compliance checks, and centralizing documentation, ensuring your operations consistently meet and exceed global standards.
With Safefood 360°, you not only streamline your processes but also foster a culture of food safety excellence, empowering your team to make informed decisions and respond swiftly to regulatory changes.
Continuous training is crucial in keeping staff informed about the latest regulations and best practices.
By investing in regular educational programs and workshops, organizations can significantly mitigate all risks throughout their organization.
Training is a cost but continuous investment in your people will endear them to your operations and provide continuous benefit to your bottom line.
This should overall reduce employee churn and increase the output of employees as they add enhanced value to your operations.
One of the conditions of GFSI schemes is that you maintain regular training logs and records that can demonstrate the improvement you are putting into your people.
When this happens, again we are able to help with our training module which can take care of these admin tasks for you and free up your time to focus on other value added activities.
Internal and external audits are crucial for identifying potential compliance issues before they escalate into significant problems.
Regular inspections help maintain high standards and prompt corrective actions when necessary.
Strong and versatile audit workflows provide a comprehensive solution for managing food safety and quality audits.
By leveraging this technology, businesses can easily schedule, conduct and track inspections, ensuring all standards are met consistently.
For example, following the implementation of Safefood 360°, Bluegrass Ingredients enhanced their auditing processes and now achieve consistent SQF scores of either 98 or 99 annually.
Regular audits not only mitigate risks but also prepare companies for success in an increasingly regulated environment.
To effectively foster a culture that prioritizes food safety across all levels of the organization, it is crucial for leadership to take a proactive stance.
This includes not only reinforcing the importance of compliance but also actively encouraging employees to engage in food safety practices.
By embedding food safety into the organizational ethos, companies can ensure that every team member understands their role in maintaining high standards.
As outlined from our sister company BRCGS, a strong food safety culture goes beyond mere adherence to regulations and is more than just a process.
It drives accountability and promotes continuous improvement, helping organizations mitigate risks and enhance their overall performance.
For more insights, you can read the full article here.
Sustaining Compliance for Future Success
The hidden costs of food safety non-compliance reach far beyond immediate financial penalties, touching on aspects of brand reputation, consumer trust and long-term profitability.
As the examples in this blog have shown, the repercussions of failing to maintain rigorous food safety standards can be both immediate and sometimes irreparable.
For food businesses to thrive in an increasingly regulated environment, proactive measures are not just advisable – they are essential.
Implementing robust food safety management systems certified under the GFSI would be the first step to protecting your brand and helping to ensure better outcomes.
Once this is established, your business may need help sustaining or growing from that.
In these instances, there are a plethora of options out there from consultations to custom workflows and solution.
Our software solution is one of these which offers a custom off the shelf solution tailored to the food manufacturing industry.
Backed by domain expertise and food safety, we offer full support to set up, deploy, and maintain your system so you can ensure your digital transformation is successful.
By further embedding these practices into the core of your operations, you can create a culture of continuous improvement, where every team member is not only informed but also empowered to uphold the highest safety standards.
Such proactive approaches do more than protect against financial pitfalls; they build a resilient brand that consumers can trust, even in challenging times.
The importance of food safety is underscored by the severe reputational risks which can ultimately affect financial performance.
By investing in the right tools, training, and systems today, your company can secure its future success, ensuring that it not only meets but exceeds the expectations of regulators and consumers alike.
In conclusion, Safefood 360° doesn’t just support compliance – it propels your business toward excellence, safeguarding your brand’s reputation, fostering consumer loyalty, and driving sustained profitability.
The question is no longer whether you can afford to invest in food safety compliance, but whether you can afford not to?
—
To learn how Safefood 360° can strengthen your compliance strategy and protect your business from the hidden costs of non-compliance, sign up for a free demo today and take the first step towards a more secure and profitable future.