Is Your Supply Chain FSMA Compliant?

The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), a ruling built off of the 2005 Sanitary Food Transportation Act, went into effect on April 6, 2017. The act shifts the focus from responding to food contamination to preventing it by prohibiting the distribution of “adulterated food” or food that has been held under unsanitary conditions. FSMA affects all parties within the supply chain. This includes shippers/brokers, receivers, loaders, and carriers.

The act specifically addresses safety, not spoilage or quality issues for all human foods, animal foods, additives, and dietary supplements. It requires all parties within the supply chain to be aware of things like material failure of temperature controls, or other conditions which could cause the food to become unsafe – thus requiring all parties within the supply chain to work together and communicate more than ever before. Below are a few ways to ensure your supply chain is compliant.

Online training. Communicate the availability of the FDAs online training to your carrier base.

Communication with shippers. Shippers should provide the carriers and receivers with key information for transport such as temperature requirements, product descriptions, and special trailer cleaning requirements to ensure food product is safely transported.

Standardized communications.  Carriers should receive all of the shipper’s product specifications on their carrier tender to avoid miscommunications.

Updated contracts. Your company’s contracts with its carriers should include language on FSMA, as well as the cleanliness and condition of the trailers and seals.

Detailed records. Shipper orders, carrier tenders, and any other load specific information should be stored by all parties indefinitely for future reference.

Food safety requirements are changing, and it’s important to make sure not only your company, but also your logistics partners are compliant to ensure a safe and efficient supply chain. 

Don’t get caught flatfooted when a recall crisis hits

Recalls have been in the news quite a bit of late, and no company ever wants to be in the media spotlight having this conversation.

The unfortunate situations, however, raise the importance of companies having crisis plans in place to deal with such recall scenarios. Getting caught flatfooted when a story of this size breaks can cause significant damage to the brand.

Below are a few cornerstone elements for a crisis plan. But any strategy is only as good as employees’ readiness. So it’s imperative that marketing communications and public relations teams regularly review and drill on plans.

• Get ahead of the story. In our digital world, news is breaking fast and from multiple channels. So companies that feel they can sit on a story, do so at their peril. As soon as an issue is discovered, get in front of it utilizing all media tools available. The caveat to this is that, while multiple channels will be utilized, the company needs one gatekeeper controlling the flow of all information. This ensures consistency of message. The only thing worse than no information being released, are details that trickle out from multiple company sources. 

• Communicate a plan. Know what the company is going to do to address the problem, and communicate it. This is the active part of the plan that helps a company steer the conversation. Good plans will highlight what the company is doing to assess why the situation occurred, as well as a focus on key steps involved in managing the recall. Plans also should emphasize the safeguards being put in place to prevent the need for a similar recall in the future. Step outside your company role and anticipate what consumers and media really want to know, versus what the company wants to say. 

• Admit the mistake. This seems like a no-brainer, but it’s surprising how many companies can’t utter the words “we are sorry.” Again, use the mediums available to your company and make it a part of all communications. Something as simple as a 30-second video clip of a company president apologizing can have a major impact, provided he or she comes across as natural and unscripted.

No company wants to face a major recall. However, having a plan in place with three simple elements – control the story; communicate your plan; and apologize – will help protect the brand in the marketplace.

Protecting Your Inventory from Unwanted “Consumers”

Pest control. It’s a topic you simply can’t ignore when selecting a warehouse or 3PL partner. Whether it flies, crawls, or burrows, pests are a constant threat, especially to facilities storing food-grade products. Without the proper procedures in place, this can mean big problems for your stored product.

Before trusting your inventory to a warehousing provider, ask the questions below to ensure that your products are in good hands.

• What inspections take place around pest control? It is important to work with a facility that goes beyond regular checks on interior and exterior traps. Make sure the actual product is being examined, as well as the tops and sides of pallets, for any pest activity. Some facilities will take extra measures, such as using pheromone traps, to make sure nothing was missed during regular inspections.
• How often are the inspections conducted? A reputable warehouse will have a pest control professional visit at least once a week. Additionally, the warehouse itself should have staff perform detailed inspections during inbound, outbound, and storage processes to ensure product is pest-free at all stages.
• What is the audit process to ensure their pest control vendor is doing their job? Make sure that your warehousing provider does random checks on traps, pallets, etc. directly following an inspection by their vendor. This will reveal if the vendor is doing a thorough job.
• What is the corrective action when pests or pest evidence is found?  Corrective actions are all dependent on the situation. Give a potential warehousing provider a pest related scenario and confirm they can provide a suitable plan of action. 
• How are live insects handled when found? In the event that live insects are found, your warehousing provider should have their pest management company come in to do fumigation or fogging upon your approval.