A procedure must be implemented to trace food items at all stages of the food chain, this is important if a final food product becomes unsafe or unsuitable.
Food service establishment shall recall or dispose the food product which may have been affected.
Traceability at receiving:
A procedure to maintain purchasing records, traceability of raw material and packing records shall be implemented i.e., invoices/receiving records capturing. Information collect should include:
Product name
Supplier name
Product identifier i.e. batch number, production date, expiry date
Receiving dates
Quantities
Minimum amount of information required to recall received product if there is a problem, shall be recorded.
In case of removing secondary packaging, food handler shall follow a procedure to maintain traceability of products
Traceability at storage:
Ingredients shall be labelled appropriately to facilitate identification and traceability.
In process products and final products shall be labelled appropriately to facilitate identification and traceability
In case of moving ingredients/in process products from its original container to another, products identification and traceability shall be maintained i.e., apply the original label to the new container, transfer traceability information to the new container
Traceability at processing:
In processing areas, ingredients and in process product’s identification and traceability shall be maintained. I.e., ingredients are identifiable and easy to trace.
In process products and final products shall be labelled appropriately to facilitate identification and traceability
In case of moving ingredients/in process products from its original container to another, products identification and traceability shall be maintained i.e. apply the original label to the new container, transfer traceability information to the new container.
When adding ingredients to a product, minimum amount of information required to identify and recall product if there is a problem shall be recorded i.e. information captured in production records
Traceability at Display/Dispatch/Transportation:
Products shall be labelled appropriately to facilitate identification and traceability.
In case of moving products from its original container to another, products identification and traceability shall be maintained i.e., apply the original label to the new container, transfer traceability information to the new container.
Where applicable, records of clients receiving the final products should be maintained to facilitate traceability and recalls if required.
Documents and Records:
The following documents and records should be available on site, updated according to procedures completed on time, dated, verified and signed by the assigned personnel:
