The industry behind food safety

Companies providing the background for food safety have developed a number of innovative technologies which allow food to be tracked from farmlands to our tables. One of the key elements in such systems is the continuity of refrigeration from production lines to the shelves. Transport can be a critical operation in terms of both food safety and quality. This is why the use of refrigerated vehicles or containers and their regular cleaning is essential. State of the art labelling technology is essential to the handling of goods in warehouses and logistic centres. In modern forwarding systems, goods are tracked using bar code technology, without any paper based operations. A number of regulations (178/2002/EK, 852/2004/EK) and standards (EUREPGAP, HACCP, ISO 22000, etc.) have been introduced by the EU to guarantee food safety, tracking and hygiene. GS1 has been operating a global data network to help various elements of the food chain in communicating with each other since 2004.This is the GDSN – Global Data Syncronization Network. GDSN partners are linked up through certified databanks which meet very strict criteria. GS1Perfect developed and maintained by GS1 Magyarország is one of the 23 databanks forming the network. GS1Perfect offers user friendly solutions which allows market players to communicate product information to foreign partners anywhere in the world. Traditional labelling is often insufficient to guarantee the authenticity of product information. The 2006 food scandal has shown us that special solutions are required for the protection of our goods from counterfeit. Labels themselves should be provided with security features which prevent data from being tampered with. The security label developed by Állami Nyomda has a double security feature. It is made from a material treated with a special additive and a numbered code covering the entire surface is printed on the label before the printing of the bar code and other identification data. This code is printed using a special paint which is sensitive to solvents. Both the additive and the checking tool have also been developed by Állami Nyomda. The hand tool called „RADIR” gives off a light and sound signal when the additive is present in a label.. Tracking goods through the refrigeration chain is a special application for RFID technology. A pioneer project by Állami Nyomda Nyrt. and Unilever Magyarország Kereskedelmi Kft. has proved the usefulness of RFID technology in this role. It has been developed for the tracking of ice creams which are highly sensitive to temperature, to pinpoint the places where quality is effected adversely. Palettes have been fitted with RFID tags which also had temperature sensors suitable for making over 400,000 time/temperature readings with extreme accuracy. Analysis of the data gathered by these tags helped in finding the weak points of the refrigeration chain. Monitoring all the activities pursued by food processing companies is a very complex task which requires sophisticated IT solutions. HostLogic Kft has been supplying SAP based management systems for almost a decade. They have also developed a complex solution for the food industry which allows complicated processes to be monitored and handled in order to guarantee food safety. The HostLogic SAP software offers industry-specific solutions for different sectors like dairy or meat products, adapted to the diverse standards and processes used. It can also handle the full range of sales tasks, including the handling of customer feedback and complaints. The system can also handle and monitor all technical instructions required for production and adapt to the use of different recipes and production technologies. Quality control points can be integrated into the system flexibly, allowing automatic feedback and modification of processes. The HostLogic SAP solution also supports bar code identification which allows warehousing processes to be simplified and speeded up substantially.