Software and Controls
Ink traceability software proves food safety compliance
By Maarten Hummelen, marketing director, GSE P
ackaging and label converters supplying the food industry must comply with strict safety standards; packaging materials for food and the methods used to produce them, can
indirectly impact food safety.
Inks, ink handling procedures and their application in combination with specifi ed packaging materials are also regulated. Some ingredients may be carcinogenic, toxic, irritating to skin or eyes or fl ammable, or pose a risk of migration into the package contents.
Traceability of inks and their ingredients to printed jobs, and back to the raw materials supplier, is a fundamental requirement of food safety audits. In the unlikely event of an error, such as ink contamination, in food package printing, a problematic ink batch or printing job must be identifi ed quickly to limit the potentially devastating fi nancial and reputational costs associated with product recalls.
TRACEABILITY REQUIREMENTS The production site must have a documented traceability system in place for every product that meets regulatory and customer requirements. This fully operational system must include work-in-progress, post-treatment and rework. All purchases of ingredients and raw materials needed to fulfi l the customer order and make the end-product must be recorded, maintained, well-organised, securely stored and readily available.
It is mandatory to trace one step backwards, to the supplier of raw materials, and forwards, to the where
the British Retail Consortium Global Standard stipulates a 4-hour limit. Passing the audit requires recovering at least 98 percent of all selected materials. Failure can constitute a major violation of the overall auditing process.
DEDICATED INK MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE OFFERS COMPLIANCE
the printed packages have been distributed or sold to. The requirement for tracing ‘reworked products’, which thus includes leftover inks, also known as ‘press return’ inks that remain in the ink chamber after a print run has fi nished. Thanks to software developments, these are frequently reused in new recipes today, as well as for repeat orders. Traces of an ink batch can therefore pass through multiple dispensing, production and return cycles, and at least the equivalent number of jobs, over time. All base colour ink ingredients, including the batch codes of return ink ingredients, must be identifi ed. The traceability system must be tested and documented at least annually as part of the product recall and withdrawal review. This includes testing both incoming materials (one step back) and fi nished products (one step forward) from diff erent shifts and across various products and customers. The system must be verifi ed as eff ective and updated as necessary.
The converter will be expected to perform a traceability exercise, within a designated time limit;
Database systems capable of storing and retrieving detailed supplier and customer information are essential for complying with GFSI requirements and performing traceability exercises within the short time-frame. Although ERP systems often include traceability modules for tracking suppliers and customers, they are designed for raw materials with linear routes through the workfl ow and cannot trace batch codes when spot colours are blended from base colours or when press return inks are recycled. However, specialist ink management software for traceability compliance is available. Key features include the generation of a unique batch code for base inks as well as container numbers for any ink mixture that is either dispensed or returned from the press. The movement of batches is logged as they pass through the workfl ow and, when ink is prepared for a job, the batch codes of each base ink are stored with the job details in the database.
ON-DEMAND REPORTING CAPABILITIES The software enables instant creation of traceability reports, which can detail either batch-to-job (customer traceability) or job- to-batch (supplier traceability) sequences. These reports include container IDs, formulas, production dates and expiry dates of freshly dispensed inks. Batch codes of previous and subsequent barrels are also reported to maintain traceability accuracy when barrels are partially fi lled with leftover ink from previous batches. This helps identify ink batches when there are safety or quality concerns with a known timeframe but unknown batch codes.
For label and packaging converters supplying the food industry, software that can track inks through their uniquely complex route in the workfl ow is key to demonstrating compliance with traceability standards and providing safety assurance for the supply chain.
38
April 2025
www.convertermag.com
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