Any organization that wants to stay competitive needs to understand, predict, and plan labor costs. The good news is that just by following legal time tracking guidelines, employers already have enough data to gain a better understanding of their operation. It’s simply a matter of collecting and using that data in the right way.
Since FSMA was introduced in 2011, the number of annual audits an average grower experiences has increased dramatically, all with the goal of improving food safety for the end consumer. Between internal audits, buyer audits, and federal annual audits, growers are experiencing more pressure than ever to rigorously document their food safety program or risk losing buyer relationships and harming their bottom line.
As food safety continues its digital transformation, audits will rely more and more on digital solutions. Growers have the opportunity to transition to digital compliance documentation in order to keep up with more frequent (and often partially-remote) audits. They can be ahead of the curve by going digital now, as regulatory bodies have started requiring that audit documentation be submitted digitally, a requirement which will eventually reach growers.
Produce shippers have a lot to juggle in order to meet regulatory requirements and buyer standards. They need to document extensive FSMA, GMP, and HACCP practices as well as local, organic, and buyer standards. In order to do this, they need access to up-to-date reporting from their various suppliers.
Last Friday, Cal/OSHA announced new regulations around COVID-19 precautions for workers. Due to the recent rise in COVID-19 cases, these new rules are more stringent and went into effect immediately. Employers across the state are scrambling to implement the new policies and document their compliance.
Food Safety Consultants are in a unique position to help farming operations across the country build stronger cultures of food safety, one of the core elements of the FDA’s New Era of Smarter Food Safety. By using paperless food safety software to monitor client accounts, they can increase their working capacity and make an even bigger impact.
In July, the FDA released their Blueprint for the “New Era of Smarter Food Safety”, building on existing FSMA requirements. The FDA Blueprint identifies four main elements, which they consider to be foundational to the New Era of Smarter Food Safety:
Strengthening your payroll compliance is a valuable way to minimize risk to your operation and avoid costly penalties. New regulations and requirements are imposed on farm employers every year so keeping track of them is a time-consuming process. Here are some best practices to help stay aligned with labor laws and minimize expensive risks to your business.
Paper-based compliance works well for many agriculture operations, but the risk of misplaced, falsified, or destroyed forms remains a liability.
The FDA’s guidance on the New Era of Smarter Food Safety has brought the unique challenges of digital transformation to the grower community. We’re recapping some insights from United Fresh’s recent webinar, where produce professionals shared their perspectives on the FDA’s new blueprint for the New Era of Smarter Food Safety.
It’s no secret that most food safety managers dread audit time. Audit prep can be tedious and frustrating. The good news is, you can change your outlook on audits by knowing these four things: