Using Quality Management Systems for Food Traceability

Abstract

<p>Due to the events of 9/11, the US Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (the Act) requires that all the companies involved in the food and feed industry to self register with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and maintain records and information for food traceability purposes.Farmers Cooperative, (FC) of Iowa, used a quality management system (QMS) to create a traceability system. Forty-one mock recalls at grain elevators were done and demonstrated by the company met the requirements for the Act. A traceability index was created that quantifies a lot size of grain in an elevator. The time duration of a recall event was impacted by the backward or forward information flow of the event. Commingling of large quantities of grain did not significantly impact the time required to meet the FDA 24-hour mandate. The quantity of grain of the recalled lot size did not have a significant impact upon lot size of suspected contaminated grain.</p>