Manufacturers urged to crack down on food safety

LRQA has urged manufacturers to increase focus on change management to ensure supplier approval processes remain effective, following reports that one in three vegan products in the UK contain egg or milk.

This is the latest indicator of heightened risks arising from a line of challenges facing the food manufacturing sector, following a warning from the Chartered Trading Standards Institute about the potentially tragic consequences cause by an allergic reaction.

Climate change, severe weather events, ongoing geopolitical issues and the cost-of-living crisis each impact the availability of raw ingredients, forcing manufacturers to seek new suppliers.

According to LRQA, there is a high likelihood that manufacturers will experience change, meaning more due diligence is required when seeking suppliers. With multiple stakeholders involved in the supplier process, including quality, food safety, procurement and research and development teams, this could complicate the process of appropriately vetting new suppliers to meet short production timelines.

Kimberly Coffin, Global Technical Director for Supply Chain Assurance at LRQA, said there is an increased potential for more instances of food safety issues due to growing difficulties in achieving a steady supply chain. With more manufacturers adopting near sourcing, supply chain assurance is further complicated.

“When changing ingredients, it’s highly unlikely that the material will be a like-for-like substitution, meaning some level of recipe redevelopment, process revalidation and verification of existing labelling compliance will be required. Any change to supply source opens a whole host of food safety threats, and to proceed without effective change management controls can have unintended adverse impact on consumers,” Coffin said.

By providing a variety of supply chain verification services, LRQA is able to support global food manufacturers. From supplier approval program management to supplier qualification and maintenance via independent audits using a brand’s own standard and third-party certification schemes, LRQA services the entire food and beverage supply chain.

According to Coffin, with changing times, manufacturers need to ensure supplier management programs leave no room for error, otherwise there is an increased risk of product recalls and industry warnings.

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