Complying with Australia’s Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point requirements to improve product recalls and food safety

Rick and Rosemary Drury are third-generation growers.

Their family has been supplying Woolworths ever since the supermarket introduced fresh fruit and vegetables into its stores in the 1960s.

Results

Decreased business and consumer risk, reduced costs, and helped improve food safety, protecting its business relationships and the brands of its customer.

Reduced time spent on semi-annual recall tests for HACCP audits from hours to 30 minutes.

Demonstrated fast and effective recall notification processes to its customers.

Reduced time required to issue a recall or withdrawal notification, minimized the risk of miscommunication to trading partners and consumers, and automatically notified relevant government agencies.

Situation

Fruit and vegetable producers sell to major supermarkets, market agents, processors and distributors. Increasingly, these customers are insisting that their suppliers have quality systems based on Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP).

At the same time, Drury Orchards is always looking for ways to improve business processes in order to foster long-term relationships with its customers, which include the major Australian retailer Woolworths. Therefore, this South Australian grower was eager to improve its manual paper-based product recall and withdrawal process.

Approach

Drury Orchards had a formal process for recall and withdrawal notifications. It was based on the the Food Standards Australia and New Zealand Product Recall Protocol and followed a flowchart format. The format relied on filling out separate paper forms for each individual customer. Twice a year, the company tested the process to ensure it fulfilled HACCP’s exacting requirements, but the manual process was time consuming and created the potential for errors.

Drury Orchards transitioned its process to a web-based portal designed around global GS1 standards and best practices. The portal simplified and automated recall and withdrawal notifications, employing a template that could be reused with multiple business partners. The system’s “mock recall” functionality also allows the company to efficiently test its recall readiness.