Understanding legislation and trends in product inspection

THAILAND is a major producer of poultry, alongside the United States and China. In 2012, 11% of the total amount of exports was chicken and poultry products. As a major regional player in food processing, Thailand is also the seventh largest food producer in the world¹, with more than 50% of production sold outside the country².

Local government and affiliated agencies such as the Department of Livestock Development, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives take this role seriously, with the Thai government also introducing policies that support safe and quality food production. Industry initiatives like the Thailand Trust Mark (TTM) is an example of proactive measures taken by the government; endorsed by the Thai government, through the Department of International Trade Promotion, Ministry of Commerce, products that aspire towards the TTM '[need] to pass reliable product standards and international standards of quality'³. This initiative will only award selected high-quality Thai products (including food) that 'attain a distinctive and outstanding level of quality'⁴.

The trends that will drive the Thai meat and poultry industry in 2014 will be largely similar to that of the global industry: increased automation with a focus on more energy-efficient systems, consumer demand for greater transparency, credibility and accountability, plus maintaining high safety and quality standards. State organisations such as the UK's Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Thailand's Food and Drug Administration (FDA Thailand) retain the authority to issue product recalls if a brand's products are found to be contaminated with foreign bodies, such as glass or metal fragments.

Safeguarding your brand

Consumer safety and compliance with industry standards have long been primary concerns of food processors. Whilst true that most food safety issues today are related to handling during primary processing and/ or bacterial contamination, manufacturers should never let their guard down, especially to avoid such situations as one involving General Mills Australasia. In December 2013, this company had to recall its Old El Paso–Hot Chunky Tomato Salsa product from Woolworths' supermarkets in New South Wales as it contained pieces of glass⁵.

There are upfront costs associated with any recall, but there is also a hefty cost that cannot be measured easily – the damage to a brand's reputation. Today's brand owners therefore need a contingency plan in place to protect this intangible asset, alongside profits.

A way to do this is to ensure that preventive technologies and robust systems are available to detect potential contamination in products. Electronic methods of data collection in modern systems can also automate data gathering, and maintain accurate electronic records so that a full audit trail can be accessed simply and quickly. With this, traceability improves, and manufacturers can easily and accurately identify the source of any issue and put in place measures to prevent future occurrence.

Safety first

Almost all meat and poultry products are subject to the risk of some type of unwanted contamination during the farm-to-fork process. Many of these contaminants and foreign objects are very difficult to detect. Processed meat is just one of many examples of a food product that is subject to metal contaminants. This is because there is a risk that the equipment used in processing, such as grinders and cutting blades may break during manufacture, resulting in small metal shards making their way into the production stream. To minimise the occurrence of such incidents and in order to improve both safety standards and record keeping capabilities, Asian meat and poultry manufacturers have been adopting advanced product inspection systems such as metal detectors, x-ray, checkweighers and vision inspection systems.

These technologies effectively increase food safety integrity to a new level by allowing for thorough inspection of every single product on any designated production line. Increasingly, manufacturers base their product inspection procedures on the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) set of principles.

To begin, an audit of the production process to identify areas where there is a risk of contamination is required. Where an area of risk is identifi ed, inspection equipment should be installed in the process line. These inspection points mitigate the risk of a contaminated product being distributed to consumers and are known as a critical control points (CCP's).

CCPs can be established at any point in the production process. The choice of technology at any CCP will depend on the risk identified. For instance, if metal shards pose the greatest risk, then a metal detection system is a validated choice. Metal detectors can be used at many different stages of the production process: throughout processing, from the checking of raw materials in bulk to the final stages of packaging, they can detect and remove even the smallest trace of ferrous and non-ferrous metals.

In line with the most stringent food safety requirements, the most advanced detectors are a combination of speed and accuracy, and can inspect both wet and dry foods with high sensitivity. As the detectors work in-line, there is no need to halt production in the event of a contamination issue as the offending product can be removed from the production line using a dynamic reject device, thus reducing downtime costs and eliminating interruptions to productivity.

For inspecting products with multiple sources of potential contamination, an x-ray inspection system may be more appropriate, as it can facilitate the detection of metals and other foreign bodies like glass, bones, stones, high-density plastics and rubber. More than that, x-ray systems also offer quality checks around other parameters: for example, x-ray machines can maintain product uniformity and limit product defects by controlling the weight and shape of products like meat patties.

Ensuring a uniform shape and size will enhance food safety, as it will allow the product to cook at the same rate. Likewise, to further enhance accurate product delivery, x-ray systems can be combined with checkweighing capabilities to ensure compliance with weights and measures regulations. As an added bonus, checkweighing systems can also minimise costly product giveaway by identifying product over- or underfill. And if all that is not enough, manufacturers can turn to vision inspection systems for an even more comprehensive solution to product inspection. Vision inspection systems are designed to inspect the labelling of packaging for correct placement and information including label legibility, lot numbers and best before dates as well as to track products through the processing line. Such systems are suitable for use on fresh food production lines including those for meat and poultry, and supports manufacturer compliance with labelling legislation in key export markets.

With the globalisation of food supply chains, manufacturers have to consider a complex range of international safety standards in order to maintain their export markets. Meat and poultry products are especially at risk of contamination, and therefore suppliers cannot overlook the importance of automated inspection systems.

*Sornnarong Thongpas is business area manager, Product Inspection Division, Mettler-Toledo (Thailand) Ltd.

1 http://globalimpactconsulting.com/48/3/2/hot_sectors/food_processing/thailand.html Last accessed in June 2014
2 http://www.boi.go.th/tir/issue_content.php?issueid=104;page=42 Last accessed in June 2014
3 http://www.thailandtrustmark.com/en/about Last accessed in June 2014
4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c42dAZxTA2k Last accessed in June 2014
5 http://www.recalls.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/1054208 Last accessed in June 2014