12 CRAFTBUTCHER l JUNE 2019


FOOD SAFETY IS THE FUTURE OF FOOD SAFETY DIGITAL?


change and happy to embrace technology intended to make my life easier, I do wonder how reliable this new technology really is? After all, they only work if the user knows how to operate them correctly.


Paul Hobbs, Principal EHO Horsham District Council


Horsham District Council is currently reviewing its antiquated computer system. Various IT companies are tendering and as the Environmental Health Department operates a large business database, recently I have had to sit in on a number of mind-blowing demonstrations.


I have been shown systems that apparently improve efficiency and cut costs. The bottom line it would seem is a reduction in paperwork and duplication.


Whilst not opposed to


However, salesmen are not just targeting Councils, I am well aware that IT Companies are also touting all singing, all dancing systems to small food businesses. The majority of small businesses rely on paper-based checks and records. According to the IT geeks, these are inefficient, time-consuming, prone to human error and easy to falsify.


Technology such as automated monitoring and digital records using sensors and data loggers can replace paper. This technology allows businesses to record and control every aspect of routine monitoring (i.e. temperature checks) and produce comprehensive data, which not only saves time but can also demonstrate legal compliance to the food safety inspectors. However, human


input is still required to set up the system and interpret the data correctly.


The Food Standards Agency (FSA) as part of its ‘Regulating our Future’ programme see the use of digital technology as a potential for improving standards in food business operations. They have recently undertaken a feasibility study using a small sample of businesses operating a digital food safety management tool as an alternative to paper-based systems in a selection of poorly rated food businesses.


Environmental Health Officers involved in the study noted that the digital records reviewed at premise were clear and secure. They felt that tamper-proof data added a layer of trust and authenticity.


The FSA claim that the study has demonstrated that digital systems could prove to be beneficial tools in improving compliance and potentially increase the FHR score, but there is a caveat. It works well only when the business


operator is willing to follow the procedures in place.


Some larger food companies are also toying with new IT systems, something called ‘Blockchain Technology’ to provide reliable evidence of food traceability. As we know from the horsemeat scandal, the food supply chain is one of the most complex and fragmented of all supply chains


Blockchain technology can track a finished food product back to its origin by tracing the entire lifecycle of food products from "farm to fork" through every point of contact on its journey to the supermarket shelf by a simple scan of a code. It has great potential and may be a solution for ensuring safe imports of food products at border inspection posts.


‘Human input’ is necessary for the data collection process at each stage of the journey and therefore the risk of transcription error onto the Blockchain or deliberate fraud is still possible.


Data integrity lies in the hands of the data inputters and collectors. I am not sure that full and complete automation of food safety systems is possible. If the future is digital, we need to accept that human behaviour cannot be standardised or protected by technology. n


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