Automatically Detect and Manage Food Packaging Supplier Risks

WESTMINSTER, Colo., Nov. 1, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Food manufacturers and their suppliers alike are under constant scrutiny with regards to the safety and quality of their finished goods and ingredients therein. One only has to remind oneself of the Peanut Corporation of America's salmonella debacle that caused the recall of 4,000 SKUs—one vendor, one ingredient, 4,000 products!—to realize just how important food safety best practices are in procurement and manufacturing.

More recently the packaging ingredient Bisphenol A (BpA) has been in the news regarding its potential risk to public health. Presently there is a large shift in both consumer and manufacturer awareness in the latent but real risk that food packaging, and specifically food contact packaging, represents to the commercial viability of food as a finished good.

Many manufacturers have begun to treat packaging like any other "ingredient," giving packaging and packaging suppliers the same scrutiny as they do with consumable ingredients. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) even had its separate food packaging standard certified as part of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) initiative, to give manufacturers a strong guideline in the sourcing and handling of viable packaging materials.

Still, how many companies have established their own food packaging specifications and are enforcing their specifications systematically? What tools exist to help food manufacturers evaluate the performance of their packaging vendors, to assure the commercial viability of their own products and assure continuous brand protection?

On November 14, TraceGains, the leader in automated food manufacturing supplier risk and compliance management solutions, and MC Squared, a noted food safety consultancy will host a joint webinar to discuss the risk inherent in food packaging, and supplier management best practices to mitigate supply chain risk.

Discussed will be how packaging itself needs to be evaluated in the same risk and compliance context as your other "ingredients, " and how the development of comprehensive food safety and quality programs is a challenge due to the complexity of many of today's food products, including the global sourcing of many of the components that are part of your value chain. The discussion will we be followed by a live demonstration of automated supplier risk and compliance management practices that evaluate both the vendor relationship and the risks that need to be evaluated in every lot shipment from a particular vendor.

The webinar is free, and sign-up is available at https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/446198654.

About TraceGains, Inc.

TraceGains provides supplier risk, compliance and management solutions that help food processors and manufacturers increase throughput, while simultaneously reducing operational costs and inventory, resulting in long-term brand protection. TraceGains has customers in baking mixes, snack foods, dairy, salad dressings, herbs & seasonings, dips, glazes & marinades, beverages, cheese processing and manufacturing, frozen foods, flavor manufacturing, breakfast cereals, dietary supplements, Meals Ready to Eat (MREs), convenience foods, and cheese sauces. More information is available at www.tracegains.com.

The TraceGains Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=13952