SI Foodware - Product Specifications
Both government and customers are constantly setting more stringent requirements for quality and food safety and the associated registration. All products with a production date from November 25th 2005 must conform to the new regulations for ingredient declarations in foodstuffs that can trigger an allergic reaction. These regulations have been drawn up by the EU and the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (VWA) has explained these for the Dutch market. In short this means that from this date the declaration of which allergens are present in foodstuffs is subject to stricter regulations. In addition the legislation also makes it compulsory to declare which ingredients are used in a product and it offers guidelines for the declaration of nutrients. Retrieving this information and the concentrations in which the ingredients are present per product is complex and time consuming. After all, to determine this information, every product, semifinished and finished, must be analysed separately. For example, for each new recipe the nutritional values of the finished product have to be calculated. And for even the smallest change in the composition of the product or the production method, the calculation has to be carried out again.
SI Foodware®
Schouw Informatisering has developed a solution which simplifies this work considerably. From now on the SI Foodware® - Product Specifications, part of our standard software for the Food & Beverage sector, can carry out these complicated calculations for you. This is carried out by using the information entered into the system for raw materials and packaging materials to calculate and carry through to the semifinished and the ultimate finished products. Besides calculating the product characteristics, SI Foodware - Product Specification also provides various documents, such as labels including allergen information for the consumer packaging and the product information sheet for your customers. With the extensive analysis features you can easily find, display and compare the information about one or more items in the product range. SI Foodware is fully integrated with Microsoft Dynamics™ NAV.
Document just once
You only have to document the information about raw materials and packaging once. There are also useful copy and paste facilities too. You have to analyse each raw material separately. In SI Foodware - Product Specifications you document the information about ingredients, nutritional values, microbiology, diet details, allergens, additives, organoleptic characteristics, vitamins and minerals, logistics information and tracing details. If applicable, information about the percentage of meat and connective tissue can be documented.
Automatic calculation
The final declarations, nutritional values etc. of a semifinished or finished product, are calculated automatically based on the recipe. In other words, when you use a raw material from an alternative supplier and you have already entered the product specification, then the consequences of this item for the various finished products is calculated for you immediately. The same applies to changes in the recipe. For example if you decide to use butter instead of margarine. The new nutritional values for the finished product are calculated for you at the press of a button.
Version management of product specifications
By creating different versions of a product specification you can easily investigate what the consequences of replacing a certain raw material would be, for example, for the fat levels or nutritional values in a finished product. Suppose you are in the process of developing a product variant, such as a specific seasonal cake. Then it is possible to manage various versions of a product specification for which you will only release the final version when you want to start producing the product. Up to that time you can experiment with the product, including varying the ingredients.
Packaging specifications
Besides specifications for raw materials, you can also document specifications for packaging. For example, in these packaging specifications you define what type of foil is used, what the composition of this foil is and what the dimensions are. Based on the packaging specifications you can then generate a packaging declaration for example for Grüne Punkt. The packaging declaration shows the quantities sold and the corresponding weight in food packaging materials. This weight is then used to calculate the amount to be paid to the authorities.
Ingredients and allergen declarations
According to current legislation it is compulsory to state the ingredients on the packaging of pre-packed consumer items. The declaration of nutritional values is not a government requirement but if they are stated, then the declaration must conform to specific rules. Also substances that can cause an allergic reaction must be stated on the label. All this information is documented in the product specification of a raw material and the values can be calculated for the various finished products.
Product information sheet and labels for consumer packaging
You can use the product specification information for a product for various purposes. For example for the ingredients and allergen declaration, on labels for pre-packed consumer items or for the product information sheet for your customers. When a product specification is sent to a customer, this is automatically logged in the relationship management module (CRM).
Analysis
Various analyses can be carried out based on the product specification. So, for example, you can quickly and easily see which finished products contain the cow’s milk protein allergen. It is also possible to carry out extensive analysis based on all the information that has been entered in product specification.
Lot tracing
On a pre-packed product, besides providing information about the ingredients and allergens, you can also indicate the lot number of the product concerned. And you can link all manner of information to the lot number, such as the expiry date. When you receive a question about a certain product, using the lot number in SI Foodware you can quickly trace what has happened to this product and which raw materials were used in the production process. You can generate a clear report of all the process steps at the press of a button. You see immediately which lots of the various raw materials and semifinished products were processed in this particular finished product.