Why are Good Manufacturing Practices vital in the Food Industry?

Good Manufacturing Practices, commonly known as GMP, maintain the integrity of the final products. They ensure that the highest standards are met while carrying out sound operations.

These practices are just as important in the food industry as in the manufacturing industry. Especially with the rise of consumer awareness and food safety issues, consumers expect businesses to take responsibility for conforming to all food safety, quality, and consumer attribute requirements.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICES IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY?

Businesses in the food business have a legal and moral obligation to create safe food for their customers. These include meeting basic operational procedures to adhere to GMP requirements such as:

Ensuring a safe and clean external environment of the food premises.
Thoroughly inspect all types of equipment and utensils used.
Using cleaning chemicals, pest control chemicals, and other machine lubricants around the food processing facility.
Ensuring 100% clean surroundings, including premises, equipment, utensils, floors, walls, and ceilings.
Organizing and managing storage of trash on the premises.
Carefully inspect foreign matter such as wood, glass, metal, etc., within the finished product.

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICES IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY?

GMP examines every step of the manufacturing process of your food for potential risks such as cross-contamination, mislabeling, and adulteration, all of which can be harmful to products and consumers.

Here are ways in which complying with good manufacturing practices in the food industry can play a vital role for companies:

1. REDUCES OPERATIONAL COSTS WHILE MANUFACTURING

High operational costs can adversely affect your bottom line if you are manufacturing food. GMPs can ensure that the best practices are carried out to manufacture food. They also ensure that sound processes are carried out and documented for producing safe food.

Sticking to a standard procedure and documenting at each stage help manage resources better and reduce overall operational costs. A robust and effective food safety management process is a sure sign of a sound and sustainable business.

2. BUILDS CUSTOMER TRUST

Good Manufacturing Practices comply with all the legal requirements to ensure that the final product fits its intended use.

To put it simply, in the case of food, this entails verifying that the food complies well with the FDA’s food safety and quality standards, thus ensuring that the food available to the consumers is in no way raw, expired, or inadequately processed.

Ensuring that the best quality is provided to the customers helps build trust in the eyes of the consumers.

3. CAN HELP INCREASE THE ABILITY TO TRADE INTERNATIONALLY

GMP works as a regulatory framework in the food industry internationally to ensure that products are regularly produced to quality standards and product specifications.

These rules outline procedures that manufacturers must follow to ensure that the food processed is consistently high-quality and safe for human consumption from batch to batch.

Complying with regulations thereby helps increase the ability for companies to trade internationally.

4. REDUCES THE FREQUENCY OF CLAIMS, RETURNS, REPROCESSES, AND REJECTIONS

GMP in the food industry consistently focuses on proper inspection at all stages, which further helps in making sure that the business is complying with customer expectations and HACCP requirements.

These inspections are not done lightly; the food company initiates a thorough assessment of the site to determine the level of GMP compliance within the facility.

If there are any issues discovered during the inspection, they’re then quickly rectified, and a cause analysis is performed to avoid reoccurrence. Therefore, such quality controls reduce the number of claims, returns, and rejections.

5. ENABLES TO REACT PROMPTLY IN CASE OF FOOD SAFETY ISSUES

One of the most vital roles that good manufacturing practices play is promptly taking corrective action with issues related to the final food product.

Manufacturers analyze the processes for each type of food produced, identify known or reasonably foreseeable hazards that can cause injury or illness to consumers, and implement preventive controls quickly (documented in written food-safety plans) to avoid future problems.

For more information on how we can help you set up an audit program, send us a note here. We, at BARE, believe in the ‘why’ behind the reasons, and we will provide actionable insights to help you provide the best experience for your customers.