Behind the growing number of food safety incidents, a contributing factor is the globalization of the food supply chain. Manufacturers and importers must conduct accurate, real-time product safety testing at all stages of production, processing, and distribution to ensure quality and ensure compliance with food safety regulations. Every aspect of the food chain has its own challenges. The Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) plays a decisive role in the food producer's workflow, so that the test data in all steps of the delivery chain ensures that it is collected and analyzed to ensure consumer safety.

The US Food and Drug Administration and European Food Regulations provide guidance to major food producers engaged in import and export in the United States and Europe. In order to monitor the quality of the product and effectively address food recalls with minor product losses, the key is batch traceability.

The European Food Regulations (EC#178/2002) define traceability as: at all stages of production, processing and distribution, for a food, feed, food animal, or a food that will be used or likely to be used in food. Or the substance in the feed, capable of tracking and tracking. Ideally, any ingredient that does not meet the criteria can be detected during crop cultivation, raw material collection or processing to prevent public exposure to unqualified products. If a non-compliant product is released, and with the traceability of the affected product batch, a more effective recall and prevention program can be developed, so the cost and potential litigation of the manufacturer can be reduced.

Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) for the food industry

The meticulous LIMS solution is designed to efficiently manage batch relationships between raw materials, processed materials, and packaged retail goods, allowing analysts to identify batches affected by contaminants and automatically prevent release during investigations. LIMS aims to manage and control quality assurance procedures, organize and store analytical data, and facilitate the conversion of data into information. This process is fully automated, ensuring that most of the sample results are within acceptable limits, screening and highlighting unqualified conditions, thereby initiating follow-up investigations. Analytical inspections of samples that are positive in the LIMS workflow allow for the discovery of potential contaminants through rapid screening techniques.

A variety of food analysis methods have obtained a large number of different types of data. LIMS automatically collects, stores, manages, and reports this data, including sample preparation data, instrument-generated data, standards, reagents and media, user reference data, management, and metrics reports.

Food samples used for safety testing are often very sensitive to time and conditions, requiring fast turnaround times or adequate storage conditions. LIMS is able to identify a variety of samples, generate tags, barcodes, and hazard data separately; store metadata; sample survey lifecycle issues. The system has entered the freeze/thaw cycle and preparation steps, which maintains a detailed catalog of samples, and the tasks of the laboratory staff are listed in order of priority. In summary, the application of LIMS in food safety workflows ensures that samples are properly disposed of and processed within a defined time frame.

Food manufacturers and importers face severe penalties if they fail to comply with food safety regulations. At the same time, food recalls are not only economically devastating, but also cause serious damage to the brand or corporate reputation. The ability to trace ingredients used in any location in the food manufacturing and supply chain is critical to ensuring product quality and compliance.

Batch traceability can be easily and efficiently achieved using a LIMS solution. LIMS is able to control the chain of custody of samples, automatically collect data from instruments and analysts, manage anomalous data, and aid identification. LIMS is able to collect results directly from the instrument to determine if it is within tolerance, so the system is ideal for food producers and importers to manage data.

Application of LIMS in yogurt manufacturers

A leading global dairy manufacturer needs a LIMS that can achieve optimal quality control of its yogurt products. Transforming a manual operating system based on a written report into a system that automates almost every quality control (QC) sample inspection and reporting process is a very important task for any business. . As a company with more than 1.8 billion yogurt production per year in the UK, Muller is in need of such a transformation. The company chose Thermo Fisher Scientific to provide a solution.

Molkerei Alois Muller (UK) is the market leader in European dairy products, including low-fat yogurt and a combination of yogurt and cereals. Due to its focus on quality and innovation, Muller's sales have grown year after year since entering the UK market. In fact, the state-of-the-art production plant opened in Market Drayton in 1992 has been extensively expanded several times, expanding in terms of production, warehousing and distribution capabilities.

Muller's laboratories focus on the QCs produced, but they also test the products from the start of the process. The milk from the farm transported by the tanker is pumped into the tank, then separated into skim milk and cream, and partially skimmed to make a concentrate. The yoghurt mix is ​​prepared in a storage tank and sterilized in batches. Batches meeting the detailed regulations are treated with heat exchangers, cooled and placed in a culture tank to which the culture is added. Quality testing is performed at each step in the process. The pH is monitored during the incubation and checked every two hours. After 8 to 9 hours of incubation, the pH drops and the yogurt is cooled to determine the final pH. In view of the fact that manual inspection and recording have been used, in many places LIMS can automate and speed up QC tasks.

The decision-making power to implement LIMS comes from an increase in production demand, and the need to increase laboratory efficiency is also one of the reasons. Muller's written report-based system for tracking and reporting QC data is supplemented by Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. LIMS will significantly reduce the number of written reports that are prone to errors while speeding up the testing process. LIMS will also help to monitor Muller's production processes in real time and play a key role in ensuring quality control of the final product. By using LIMS, Muller will be able to track all data and make decisions and necessary improvements more quickly.

Muller chose LIMS to manage QC data for raw materials, processes and final dairy desserts. Integrating LIMS with as many laboratory equipment as possible, automates data conversion and increases efficiency. The milk receiving program under the management of LIMS has been developed to include bar code samples of the tank when it is accepted, antibiotic testing of milk, and detection of fat, protein, lactose and solids in milk. Any parameters that do not meet the requirements will be reported automatically. For example, if the tank is unqualified for antibiotics, it is immediately rejected. LIMS marks this result as non-compliant and automatically forms a report.

IT team involvement

Muller's Information Technology (IT) team works closely with the lab team to select and implement LIMS. Specialized IT staff ensure the integrity of the program. IT reviews the distribution of all QC information; asks staff for their requirements and provides them with appropriate reports. Through LIMS, IT determines the access privileges of data, including sample reports, daily averages, and moving averages. These are read-only reports, some of which are confidential and can only be accessed with permission, such as sales reports. The report is more precise and will not be changed within the system. Today, the interface to a wide range of devices and merchandise ensures that there are no input or copy errors.

Enterprise-wide LIMS standardization delivers immediate benefits in productivity, information sharing, accelerated sample processing, and spreadsheets. The implementation of LIMS enables Muller's laboratories to respond flexibly to production needs and to be able to face future challenges. LIMS is also able to integrate with other commercial systems. With the implementation of LIMS, the lab is confident of the ability to solve future problems.

Food companies need to conduct accurate and stable testing and get data quickly to comply with relevant regulations. The LIMS solution for the entire enterprise is flexible enough to adapt to a variety of workflows, lab types, and various user groups within the organization, thus helping food companies achieve fast and reliable results.