Managing food safety and compliance within your PLM software

Food safety and compliance challenges arise nearly every day. If you’re working with global suppliers and customers, you’ll need to be up-to-date long before new regulations are enforced. Running instant lifecycle assessments (LCAs) within your product lifecycle management (PLM) software allows you to check where you may be at risk and plan well in advance. You might find that you’re working in a way that exposes your products to recall and your company to fines or brand damage—or both.  

With an increasing focus on supply chain transparency and traceability from both regulators and consumers, now is the time to invest in effective PLM tools and systems. 

What’s happening now: Increased complexity in the US and Europe

Both the United States and Europe continue to deepen their regulations and guidance for food safety, potentially snarling your speed to market. Here are some of the most relevant regulations for food safety in these markets: 

• • Increased inspection frequency of facilities: FSMA mandates more frequent inspections of food facilities, focusing on preventive measures instead of reacting to problems after they occur. This enables the identification of potential food safety issues before they cause harm to consumers. 

• • Focus on preventive controls: FSMA emphasizes preventive controls, requiring food companies to analyze and mitigate potential hazards throughout the production chain. This includes implementing sanitation procedures, product testing, and employee training. 

• • Expanded traceability requirements: FSMA strengthened requirements for tracking food products from farm to fork, aiding in foodborne illness outbreak investigations and ensuring rapid and accurate responses to potential threats to public health. 

• • Updated allergen labeling requirements: EU food labels must now include "may contain" statements to warn consumers about potential allergens, improving consumer safety and preventing severe allergic reactions. 

• • Stricter guidelines for novel foods and food packaging materials: This regulation ensures that novel foods, such as genetically modified products and emerging food trends, undergo thorough safety assessments before being marketed. Stricter guidelines for packaging materials also help reduce potential contamination sources. 

• • Greater emphasis on the traceability and transparency of food supply chains: The regulation promotes full transparency in food traceability, fostering consumer trust and enhancing food safety. 

• • US: FALCPA requires labeling the top 9 allergens the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act, requires labeling the top 9 allergens: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame. 

• • EU: The FIC regulation mandates labeling of 14 major allergens, including gluten-containing grains (wheat, rye, barley, oats), crustaceans, mollusks, lupin, and other common allergens such as peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, milk, soy, and mustard. 

Food traceability lists (FTLs) were also finalized in the U.S., with attendant traceability requirements regarding recordkeeping for the origins, destination and tracking of foods on the list.  Here are the new requirements:  

FSMA final rule requirements for additional traceability records for certain foods 

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a final rule that establishes additional traceability recordkeeping requirements for persons who manufacture, process, pack, or hold foods included on the Food Traceability List (FTL). 

• The goal of this rule is to enhance the FDA's ability to quickly identify and remove potentially contaminated food from the market, reducing the risk of foodborne illnesses and outbreaks. 

• The FTL includes a wide range of food items, such as fresh produce, seafood, dairy products, and more. The complete list can be found on the FDA's website. 

• Companies that handle foods on the FTL must maintain accurate records on critical tracking events in the supply chain, including information on the origin and destination of the food, as well as details on its transportation and storage conditions. 

• Records must be maintained as original paper or electronic records and must be legible and easily accessible to FDA inspectors upon request. 

• The final rule also requires companies to establish internal systems for quickly identifying and retrieving traceability records in a food safety incident or recall. 

• Non-compliance with the final rule's recordkeeping requirements may result in penalties and regulatory action from the FDA. 

What to avoid when addressing food safety and compliance 

Manually managing food safety and compliance doesn’t work because everyone doesn’t have the same version of the truth. Trying to work across systems with the tenuous connection of email will inevitably result in errors, large and small.   

Teams toiling in silos, using manual processes also take longer and use up your resources fast. Frustrating workflows ensue, and frustrated workforces aren’t always productive or attentive enough to protect compliance across your portfolio.  

Transform your food safety management with PLM software 

PLM software solutions support every aspect of your new product development and introduction (NPDI), from supplier sourcing and onboarding, to ingredient and recipe tracking, managing of labelling requirements, and tracking of global regulations.  

Food and beverage manufacturers need a PLM software system to hasten products to market in order to capitalize on trends and build customer loyalty. Using a PLM system like Trace One Devex PLM, you benefit from expert advice and templates from an enterprise software team that knows your industry and can help setup the workflows you need. 

Tool to stay on top of food safety regulations should be part of any solid PLM. You’ll need access to current regulatory digital libraries; solid regulatory workflows; audits available for every product with a few clicks; and automated notifications of changing requirements in your markets. 

How to transform food safety management in Trace One Devex PLM  

Steps to start fast in a solid PLM 

1. Setting up food safety workflows within your PLM should be one of your first priorities.  You’ll want to ensure that product ideation through launch is included—and that your other systems, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), can be connected fast. Your existing workflows can plug right in, with some testing and tweaks, shortening time to implementation, and your PLM software partner can even help you clean up your data. Make sure you’re partnered with experienced professionals who can guide you through implementation for the least disruption possible. 
2. Integrating food safety audits into the product lifecycle should become much easier with correctly implemented PLM software. Within your PLM, you can plan for and execute audits regularly, bringing risks to light before they become expensive.  You’ll be scheduling and conducting audits within the system, tracking results, and managing corrective actions in a cost-effective, systemized manner. You can also generate audit reports and documentation for regulatory bodies with a few clicks. 
3. Ensuring compliance with food safety standards such as HACCP, ISO 22000, and BRCGS is built into your PLM software. These regulations will be integrated into your workflow throughout your everyday activities—not just when it’s time to scan for updates and make sure you’re compliant. Time is of the essence when you’re reactive—but time is your friend when you’re proactively updated on these regulations by your PLM software.

Trace One PLM's regulatory database contains up-to-date information on food safety regulations so you can expedite product development with confidence. You’ll receive automated notifications for new or updated regulations in time to act. Food safety audits become business-as-usual without complicated processes and slow-downs.  

Taking action to update your PLM systems now will save you many compliance and safety headaches down the line—reach out now to get a Trace One Devex PLM demo scheduled.