March 21 2013
By: Staci Cretu, M.S.
Marketing and Communications Manager
At this writing, the Sequester is in effect with no apparent resolution in sight. As the federal budget cuts move forward, an area of great concern to many is the loss of FDA funding. With a $65 million cut in funding, the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) legislation could be in trouble. With these cuts the FDA wouldn’t be able to enforce the new regulations and institute preventative controls that are designed to keep the food chains safe from contaminated items. The lack of tracking or traceability requirements would make it difficult to find items in the supply chain if a problem arises.
If no one is going to enforce a law, should companies just forget about the FSMA? NO! Food safety is an issue that affects all Americans and should be considered an important step in the food processing industry. Not only are people in danger of illness or death, but a contaminated food product also leads to losses that no company should be willing to sacrifice: reputation and market value.
At Westfalia, we understand the demands of the food and beverage industry and feature a strong Warehouse Management System (WMS) that conforms to the unique situations that arise in this industry. The ability to trace and track food items within the supply chain is of utmost importance in food safety. Tracking and inventory control are key features of the Westfalia Savanna.NET® application. All movements of items are managed and controlled, whether in an automated or manual warehouse system utilizing Savanna.NET®. This system-wide solution supports full inventory traceability to support product recall, etc., while also providing solid, overall operational management functions necessary to operate a successful warehouse. The utilization of a WMS like Savanna.NET® provides batch tracking and quarantine functions for quality control as well. This solution provides an informational repository that is always accessible. Even if legislation is stalled because of the Sequester, food manufacturers should not reduce the amount of effort they put into food safety and traceability.