Assuring safety and quality throughout the supply chain
The complexity of handling hundreds of raw ingredients presents its fair share of logistical challenges for premix manufacturers, but with best practice protocols, quality can be maintained, and contamination issues avoided. Chris Rackham, Premier Nutrition’s general
manager (left), advises on some key processes that can prevent issues arising, to help assure customers of product safety and quality.
Supplier audits “First and foremost, before any raw ingredient even reaches warehousing, every supplier must be fully vetted, to ensure that their products are responsibly sourced and ethically sound. In addition, all materials must be fully analysed to confirm quality and feed safety criteria are met,” says Chris. “This is something we value highly at Premier, so we employ a
risk-based auditing system, recognising that many of our suppliers are based overseas where regulations differ to the UK.”
Above: Tumble mixing stations
Supply chain expertise Chris adds that it is vital to have qualified staff in place to correctly assess nutrient values of ingredients, so any ingredients that do not meet the grade can be identified promptly. “Our team of expert nutritionists have extensive knowledge of raw
ingredients, which is reflected in the Premier Atlas, our ingredients matrix, which ensures the correct values are assigned to incoming products for nutrition and product safety before anything progresses through the chain.” Chris explains that Premier also aims to bring the integrity and
rigour of human food production to premix manufacture. This ‘food industry thinking’ approach is reflected in the investment programme in its factories, including the new factory at Fradley Park. “Every delivery of ingredients is passed through highly sensitive
near infra-red (NIR) technology to confirm its identity and rule out mistakes in labelling by ingredient suppliers,” says Chris.
Contamination control He adds that the Premier Nutrition team prides itself on its ability to deliver customer reassurance. “Contamination control must be high on the agenda at every
stage of the supply chain, so meticulous warehouse management is essential. “Our barcoding system traces every bag, box or bottle throughout our entire facility,” he says. In addition to this, Chris adds that multiple weigh-points throughout
the factory not only ensure the highest levels of accuracy, but also automatically stop production, should a discrepancy be detected. Complex cross-contamination controls, written into the factory manufacturing control software, provide another level of automated control.
Left (top): The micro-doser Left (bottom): Bagging station check
PAGE 30 MARCH/APRIL 2019 FEED COMPOUNDER
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