On January 14, 2021, when the Tianjin Municipal Disease Control and Prevention Department performed COVID-19 nucleic acid test on ice cream samples submitted by a food company in Tianjin, it found that 3 ice cream samples tested positive. As of 14:00 on the 14th, the company has been fully sealed and controlled.

When a product has a problem and needs to be recalled, building a good traceability system will help companies quickly track the recalled products and protect their interests. Foodmate will introduce to the main control points in the process of establishing the traceability management system for your reference.

1. Establish a traceability management mechanism for the whole process

When establishing a traceability management mechanism, it should cover traceability requirements in the purchase of food raw materials, production process, product inspection, product transportation, storage, and sales. At the same time, China encourages food producers and operators to use information technology to collect and retain production and operation information, and establish a food safety traceability system, ensure the authenticity, accuracy, completeness and traceability of the data.

Note: Producers and operators who do not have the conditions for informatization can use paper records to achieve traceability.

2. Establish a batch management system

Food production and operation enterprises shall reasonably divide and record production batches, including raw materials, auxiliary materials, inner packaging materials, outer packaging materials, semi-finished products, finished products, etc., using product batch numbers and other methods for identification to facilitate product traceability. At the same time, a record system should be established to record the procurement, processing, storage, inspection, and sales of food production in detail. For example, such information of the food should be recorded including the name, specification, quantity, production date (batch number), inspection certificate number, date of sale and purchaser's name, address, contact information. It is recommended to make a delivery list with more than one copy, and pay attention to retention. The content of the record should be complete and true to ensure that all links from raw material procurement to product sales can be effectively traced.

Note: In the daily production and operation process, enterprises need to ensure that the batch is clearly identifiable, so that relevant and effective information can be obtained at the first time.

3. Establish a traceability drill mechanism

Enterprises need to establish an effective traceability drill mechanism. Let’s analyze the key points of management and control from the following dimensions:

Types of traceability exercises:

Forward tracing: The ability to trace the path of the unit from upstream to downstream in the supply chain.

Reverse tracing: The ability to identify the source of traceability units from downstream to upstream in the supply chain.

Whether it is forward tracing or reverse tracing, the purpose is to make risks controllable.

Timing of the exercise:
It is recommended not to conduct the exercise during working hours, and the start time of the exercise should not be too close to the work/off work time.

Timeliness of exercise:
In order to verify the effectiveness of the traceability mechanism, it is recommended to set a time limit for completion internally, and the cycle should not be too long.

Establishment of contact test mechanism:
A functional post needs to establish two or more contacts, and at the same time, keep the contact information of 24*365h.

Note: The upstream and downstream contact channels need to be regularly unblocked to facilitate contact with the relevant parties at the first time to prevent various problems during the actual traceability.

4. The exercise summary needs to be comprehensive

The exercise summary should include the following:

The names of raw materials, packaging materials, finished products; the start and end time of the exercise; the evaluation of the relevant records of the traceability process; the statistics of the number of related materials; the calculation of the traceability rate; the evaluation of the exercise; the improvement of the traceability system Suggestions etc.

Note: After the traceability is completed, the traceability process information needs to be fully recorded, and corrective/preventive measures should be formulated, such as purchasing new equipment, adding job settings, improving operating procedures, etc.

5. Key requirements for cold chain food traceability management under the epidemic

Under the epidemic situation, various localities have different measures to control frozen food. The certificates involved mainly include road transport certificates, nucleic acid test reports, inspection and quarantine certificates, disinfection certificates, food purchase and sales certificates, customs declaration forms, warehouse (warehouse) certificates, traceability information, goods list, etc. Beijing, Jiangsu and other 15 provinces and cities have successively issued special regulations for cold chain food traceability management, and promoted the use of cold chain food traceability platforms to achieve key special control over cold chain food.

In summary, food production and operation enterprises need to continuously strengthen the entire process of quality and safety management and risk control, and establish an effective food traceability management system to ensure that the source of raw materials is controllable, the production process is clean and hygienic, and that the company establishes standards for monitoring suppliers. The establishment of a traceability system by enterprises can connect production and consumption, so that consumers can understand the production and circulation processes that comply with health and safety, and increase consumers' confidence in products.

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Please note: Original English article of Business Division of Food Safety and Regulatory Compliance of Global Foodmate, please indicate the source from the Global Foodmate if reprint.

Business Division of Food Safety and Regulatory Compliance of Global Foodmate provides food standards & regulations research, labelling compliance consulting/Chinese label design, industry public opinion monitoring and analysis, registration services (of Infant formula, FSMP, Health food, Novel Food Ingredients, Novel Food Additives, New Varieties of Food-Related Products and Overseas manufacturers of imported food) and other comprehensive food safety solutions for domestic and overseas enterprises and institutions in food industry. 

Please feel free to contact us: +86 10 68869850, E-mail: global_info@foodmate.net