Ensuring Food Safety with ERP: A Guide for Manufacturers & Distributors

Food safety has been a primary concern for both manufacturers and governments worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO):

• An estimated 600 million people—almost 1 in 10 globally—fall ill after consuming contaminated food, with 420,000 deaths occurring annually.
• Unsafe food leads to $110 billion in productivity and medical expenses annually, particularly affecting low- and middle-income countries.
• Children under 5 years old bear 40% of the foodborne disease burden, resulting in 125,000 deaths every year.

These shocking statistics underscore the critical importance of food safety, urging food manufacturers and regulatory bodies to take proactive measures.

The Role of Food ERP Software in Food Safety

A food ERP software plays a transformational role in ensuring compliance, quality control, and traceability, benefiting manufacturers, distributors, and end consumers alike.

This guide explores how food ERP solutions can help manufacturers and distributors uphold food safety standards effectively.

How Does an ERP Software for the Food Industry Ensure Food Safety?

Food ERP is helpful in achieving the goal of food safety because it has some inbuilt features that allow manufacturers and distributors to take necessary steps toward food safety. Let's discuss these features one by one and understand how these features help ensure the food is safe to consume.

Recipe Management and Security:

Food ERP system ensures secure recipe management with role-based access control and prevention of unauthorized modifications and data breaches. It also maintains a detailed audit log, allowing users to trace changes, track modifications, and hold personnel accountable. This enhanced transparency strengthens compliance and positively impacts food safety.

Labelling:

An ERP for food manufacturing enables the generation of accurate nutritional labels while also displaying Halal, Kosher, and Allergen information on packaging. This not only informs consumers about the ingredients in their purchased products but also helps manufacturers comply with safety and regulatory standards.

Supplier Management:

BatchMaster's supplier management functionality ensures that only validated and approved suppliers provide raw materials for food production. By maintaining supplier records, applying quality checks, and enforcing compliance with agreed standards, it guarantees the purity and quality of ingredients procured.

Additionally, it stores vendor certifications and provides alerts when a certification is nearing expiry. If a vendor's certification expires, the ERP system automatically restricts procurement from them, ensuring compliance with quality and regulatory standards.

Quality Checks:

Food manufacturing software enables quality checks at every stage of the supply chain, including procurement, production, packaging, and delivery.

Even if suppliers are validated, manufacturers can perform additional quality checks to ensure raw materials meet set standards before accepting them into the warehouse. Materials that fail to meet these standards can be either returned or disposed of as necessary.

Certain raw materials require cooling time and isolation before undergoing quality checks or getting entry into warehouse. The ERP system facilitates the quarantine of such materials, restricting their release to inventory or production during that period.

Additionally, before shipment, the software conducts final quality checks to ensure that only safe and compliant products are dispatched to end consumers.

Inventory Categorization:

Food manufacturing ERP software facilitates the categorization of inventory items. It enables manufacturers and distributors to store and place inventory items at specific locations based on pre-decided criteria. For example, frozen food and non-vegetarian food must be stored at certain low temperatures, but they should also be stored in separate areas to respect the religious and personal preferences of end consumers.

ERP for Food manages both areas to be categorized for easy and quick identification and ensures that only specific items are stored in their designated areas.

Similarly, manufacturers and distributors can categorize their inventory items based on market demand. Fast-moving goods can be categorized in one way, while slower-moving items can be categorized differently. This flexibility in choosing categorization criteria ensures food safety and enhances the speed of order fulfillment.

Compliance Adherence:

Various regulatory laws aim to ensure food safety. Guidelines laid down by organizations such as the FDA, FSSAI, FSA, and EFSA strive to provide safe and quality food to consumers. Food ERP software helps manufacturers and distributors adhere to these guidelines, ensuring the delivery of safe and high-quality products to end users.

Traceability:

Traceability is the ability of the software to track and trace food products throughout the entire supply chain, from farm to table. A traceability system facilitates the identification and recall of unsafe or contaminated food items, making it easier to uphold food safety.

Shelf Life and Expiry Management:

Food items have a short shelf life, making it essential to use them before they expire.

Food manufacturing ERP optimizes inventory management using LIFO (Last In, First Out), FEFO (First Expire, First Out), and FIFO (First In, First Out) principles. This ensures that products nearing expiration are prioritized for use or sale, while expired or soon-to-expire items are systematically removed from stock to maintain quality and prevent negative customer experiences.

Material Substitution:

Manufacturers are continually seeking viable, sustainable, and healthier alternatives to existing ingredients. As consumer awareness of food safety and nutrition grows, ingredients once considered healthy may no longer meet evolving standards. This drives food manufacturers to find alternative ingredients while maintaining cost efficiency.

Food industry ERP software streamlines this process by enabling manufacturers to experiment with and substitute materials without the complexity of lengthy calculations. This ensures they can achieve the optimal balance between food safety, profitability, and consumer demand.

Additionally, the software helps manufacturers identify alternative packaging materials or bills of materials (BOMs), enhancing both packaging safety and overall product quality.

Data Management and Analysis:

Food processing software provides a quick access to information required for audits, inspections, and compliance reporting.

Manufacturers can analyze data trends, identify potential risks, and implement corrective and preventive actions (CAPA) to enhance their food safety efforts.

A food manufacturing ERP software is equipped with these features to ensure food safety. However, if you are a manufacturer or distributor considering deploying an ERP software in your organization, you might be wondering which one to choose from the available options in the market.

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How BatchMaster ERP for Food Can Help Improve Food Safety?

BatchMaster ERP for Food is a comprehensive ERP solution designed specifically for the food industry, assisting in various aspects of food safety. By deploying BatchMaster ERP for Food, organizations can enhance food safety practices, reduce risks, and ensure compliance.

BatchMaster ERP has been adopted by leading food manufacturers worldwide and has proudly served the industry for over four decades.

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