Food ingredients Suppliers management

Food ingredients Suppliers management

Introduction This paper reviews the process of ingredient supplier approval and selection. UK food manufacturing sector relies on suppliers to guarantee the safety and quality of their products. Ingredients are grouped in order of their potential to cause harm and can therefore be grouped by risk assessing hazards inherent to them. Supplier control is an underpinning prerequisite in a well establish HACCP program. Food manufacturers use a variety of ingredients, from fresh produce to formulated ingredients resultant of chemical extrapolation of them. A new varied range of ingredients was able to evolve from these complex combinations. Whether the ingredient is fresh or man-made the risks to food safety and quality remained, if not increased, and the control of the producer and/or supplier is a crucial part of producing safe foods. Major ingredients groups In the United Kingdom food manufacturing sector a vast quantity of raw materials is used. It is important for the food business operator to assess each ingredient for its characteristics and identify the food safety hazards associated with them. Marks & Spencer code of practice categorise raw materials as high, medium or low risk (Marks & Spencer 2013). Grouping ingredients by their hazards and characteristics will help the food business to risk assess and control any potential food safety or quality issues (Emond, Keenan et al. 2009). As a basis for raw materials grouping both BRC Global Standard for Food and the International Food Standard have a well establish category lists. Food manufacturers must group their ingredients based on the company information, creating a portfolio of raw materials, suppliers and customer standards. Below in table 1 is a suggested grouping of ingredients. This grouping is a start basis for food businesses and can be developed to meet company specific needs. Each one of these groups will have its own hazards types (biological, chemical, physical or allergenic) and characteristics. Food ingredients for the food manufacturing industry are sourced primarily at the farm (meat, fruit, vegetables, milk, and fish). They can be in their pre-processed stage (fresh vegetables, fruit, herbs and spices) further processed (cheese, sugars, starch or hydrolysed vegetable proteins) or processing aids ingredients (additives, preservatives) with a variety of roles from extending shelf life or improving taste. Page 1 of 7

Table 1: Raw material grouping (source: Risk assessment and management of raw materials, Campden BRI) Product group Fruit Vegetables Nuts Legumes Cereals Milk and dairy products Eggs Poultry and poultry products Meat and meat products Fish and fishery products Beverages Oils and fats Sugars Starches Novel proteins Spices and condiments Chemical additives Pre prepared foods Product example Tree, bush, tropical, soft fruit including fresh, dried, canned and preparations Leaf, tuberous, stem including fresh, diced, canned and preparations Tree nuts, ground nuts prepared or semi prepared Forage and grain (peas, beans, lentils, lupin) Including cereal products (pasta) Fresh, diced, preparations Fresh, dried, preparations Raw, cooked, frozen, preparations and by products Raw, cooked, frozen, preparations and by products Fresh, frozen, shellfish Alcoholic and non-alcoholic Excluding dairy Sugars, gums, jellies Wheat, maize, rice potato, guava Soya protein, hydrolysed vegetable proteins Herbs, spices, vinegar, mustard Additives, preservatives, sweeteners Sauces, baby foods Page 2 of 7

Ingredient specifications Raw materials and ingredient quality and safety programs in food manufacturing are driven by consumer demand for safe, high quality foods. A health and safety and functionality criterion involves a variety of assessments to determine raw materials quality and safety attributes such as microbiological or desired shelf life. When developing ingredient specifications tests are carried out to determine a variety of factors including shelf life, functionality, marketing claims or quality attributes (flavours, texture, etc.) to assist in consistency of the product (Vasconcellos 2004). These will form the basis for the specifications to which suppliers agree to achieve. Details of such specifications should establish clear limits of tolerance and acceptability to which the ingredient is measured against for its quality safety criteria. Ingredient specification documents can be long or concise, but must meet the requirements of buyers and regulations. Specification documents should be made available for each raw material or ingredient by the supplier. Usually an ingredient specification document will include (Mortimore, Wallace 2013): Details of supplier and manufacturing/supply location; A description of the raw material and its functionality; An ingredients list (to enable allergen assessment); Details of all intrinsic factors with tolerance limits, e.g., aw, ph, salt, preservatives; Microbiological, chemical, or physical acceptance criteria; Analytical and microbiological sampling plans; Labelling requirements; Storage and distribution conditions; Safe handling and use instructions; Description of pack type, size, and quantity. Other information that may also be part of the specification is a description of how the ingredient is processed or process flow diagram, as well as supplier site plan. This information will then be used by the buyer HACCP team that fully considered and identified all hazards related to the ingredient. These documents will also be useful in drawing up question before supplier audits. Page 3 of 7

Ingredient supplier approval Supplier approval programs are an important pre-requisite program of food business HACCP. Ingredients and raw materials quality and safety impact on food business operations and processes. Food manufacturers rely on consistency and ability of supplier to deliver safe ingredients. A cross departmental team, involving New Product Development (NPD), Purchasing and Technical departments, should be involved to evaluate and qualify potential ingredients and suppliers when the need arises. To each department a different criterion is prioritised. For instance NPD may want supplier support to a certain extent and will be focusing on the quality characteristics of the ingredient. Technical department role is to ensure that all criteria related to food safety, ingredient specification, traceability, shelf life and supplier management of hazards specific to the ingredient is achieved. Purchasing department responsibility within the team is to ensure whether any of the suppliers on the approved list can or cannot provide the desired ingredient, if approved/ potential supplier can meet delivery demands, minimum order quantities and if it meets required price (Vasconcellos 2004). Supplier approvals will also depend on the level of confidence in supplier operations and its competency in identifying/ manage hazards related to the ingredient/raw material in question. It is essential for food manufacturers to establish good customer-supplier relationships as partners in managing food safety (Mortimore, Wallace 2013). To be effective ingredient supplier approval programs define the minimal requirements for the safety and quality of foodstuff. Below are some examples of procedures used when considering new suppliers or evaluating existing ones: Criteria required to identify which suppliers are critical food safety and quality. Required information for the food safety/haccp program (i.e., identification, information for hazard analysis, required control, ingredient characteristics, country of origin, and specific process requirements); always reference the standard of choice for this information. Criteria not only for the approval process, but also for monitoring and control through evaluation of ongoing supplier performance. Ongoing evaluations may be based on the potential risk of the item or service being supplied. Page 4 of 7

The supplier s continued ability to meet defined requirements. Type and extent of control that must be applied to a supplier depending upon the existing or potential food safety risk of the product or source. Process for addressing a supplier who has a nonconforming situation, whether food safety or quality related. Process for reporting supplier issues for those suppliers identified and not controlled by the manufacturing site (i.e., corporate, customer, etc.). Criteria and/or limits of noncompliance that would result in removing a supplier from approved status. Required objective evidence (i.e., records) that is maintained to demonstrate compliance. An inactive time period that would require the re-evaluation of suppliers prior to use, in other words, the period of time elapsed that would require a supplier to go through the approval process again (i.e., inactive for 2 years) before its products or services can be sourced. Responsibilities for managing and ensuring the effectiveness of the critical food safety and quality supplier program. Records demonstrating compliance to the defined requirements for this program must be identified and maintained Compliance Source: Food Safety Management Programs Applications, Best Practices and Monitoring of ingredient suppliers Once a supplier has been approved and entered in the food business operator list of approved suppliers, continuous monitoring of ingredient and supplier is essential. Food businesses accepting ingredients is also responsible in ensuring that ingredients are safe and does not introduce known or potential hazards associated with ingredients into the final product. Mistakes happen on a daily basis, with the potential to the safety and quality of foods. Food businesses should operate routine intake checks. BRC standards require food businesses to operate a documented procedure for the acceptance of raw materials upon receipt based on the risk assessment of ingredients. Visual inspection, Certificates of Analysis/ Conformance and product sampling are some of the parameters. These parameters and frequency of intake checks must be clearly define and records maintained for each batch of raw materials. Ingredients or raw materials that do not conform to specification must not be accepted, Page 5 of 7

documented and supplier informed for formal investigation. Food businesses may want formal feedback on complaint and ingredient analysis trends (Newslow 2013). Suppliers have the duty of informing the food business operator of non-conforming ingredients delivered immediately after they have been made aware which may or may not have been their responsibility. Dialogue between customer/supplier is vital to ensure quality and safety of foods. Continuous interaction will benefit both. Suppliers may want to show new products or uses for existing ones and food businesses understand supplier s capabilities of delivery. Supplier audits and certification is another tool in effective monitoring of ingredient suppliers. Audits may be carried out by the food business operator or delegated to a third party. Audits of supplier food safety systems based on HACCP will ensure that the ingredient is being manufactured according to the specifications agreed upon. Information about ingredient previous non-conformance and investigation carried out by the supplier are key documents were an auditor will be preparing the audit. Other information could consist of supplier financial, technological aspects or if the supplier operates within a formal food safety quality system and is certified (e.g. FSSC22000) (Vasconcellos 2004). Conclusion Supplier approval programs are designed to assure that the ingredient will conform to a set of criteria design to safeguard the end consumer. When designing a new product food operators will devise an ingredient specifications where aspects related to food safety and quality have to be observed. It is important for the suppliers to demonstrate their due diligence when producing the ingredient as well their capability to conform to specifications and tolerances. It is vital for the food manufacturers to demonstrate that all care has been consider when approving a supplier. A set of tools are important to safeguard the integrity of the ingredient. Suppliers HACCP must be tested by means of auditing and/or certification. Continuous evaluation of supplier must be effective. Intake checks are crucial to identify nonconformant ingredients and records must be taken and formal investigation carried out from the supplier. Constant dialogue between customer and supplier is of essence. On one hand supplier may benefit from new business opportunities on the other hand food business operators will benefit knowing that the quality and safety of their ingredients is attained. Page 6 of 7

Reference List Emond, S., Keenan, S. and Pelletier, Z. (2009) Risk assessment and management of raw materials. Chipping Campden Campden BRI 2011. Marks & Spencer (2013) Marks & Spencer Code of Practice Raw Material Requirements. 2nd edition. Marks & Spencer. Mortimore, S. and Wallace, C. (2013) [ebook]haccp : a practical approach. New York Springer, 2013; Third edition. Newslow, D. (2013) Food Safety Management Programs: Applications, Best Practices, and Compliance. CRC Press. Vasconcellos, J.A. (2004) [ebook]quality assurance for the food industry : a practical approach. Boca Raton, FL CRC Press c2004. Page 7 of 7