Food companies need to give quality and safety personnel access to test data on the warehouse floor and not just when they are at their desks, said the firm.
Sample6 CONTROL Basic iPad app allows users to create test points and delivers testing data users need to find and correct potential safety concerns.
The mobile app displays testing results, schedule status, the ability to generate and collect testing schedules.
It has an interface which can prompts users, flag issues and detect conditions to reduce errors.
The firm has a CONTROL Premium app that also offers analytical reporting, advanced workflows and more advanced planning potential.
Food safety on the move
Tim Curran, Sample6 CEO, told FoodQualityNews that companies are trying to find and correct any potential safety concerns before their products enter the food chain.
“With the software and web-based application built the next step was the app on the mobile side. The app lets you get more visibility and it is designed for workflows and certain functionality,” he said.
“You can bring it anywhere you are in the plant – it is another level of control. Users can combine it with desktop work and set up sample points over the course of the year.
“For sampling you can take the iPad and cart of swabs, record where you take samples and take photos of the area. If there is a problem drain, for example, you can take swabs and record it then go back to the database.”
Curran said the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) had been a tailwind for the company.
“It helps get the attention of the food companies, some for things diagnostic and some for control,” he said.
“Hazard analysis and the preventive control rules at food plants are making record-keeping more strict and it is hard to do if it is just on spreadsheets and paper logs. If the FDA or USDA shows up it is much easier with databases which are backed up and secure.”
Diagnostics versus monitoring
Curran said there are different thought processes around switching diagnostic methods than monitoring systems and it depends on the firm size.
“Always the same is their care, the food safety person or people care, they know it is a serious business,” he said.
“What is different is if it is a multi-national corporation with 140 plants around the globe there are layers of decision making so it is a longer process. If they have a few plants you work through the chain of command quicker.”
Sample6 DETECT is an enrichment-free, on-site, pathogen test while Sample6 CONTROL offers analytics through a web platform.
“Sample6 is setting a new standard for food safety programs. We have been floored by how much faster and simpler pathogen detection is with Sample6,” said Tiffany Ptaszkiewicz, manager of Food Safety and Quality, for Norpaco.
“However, the iPad app will further streamline our proactive food safety efforts and make the testing and reporting process even more intuitive.”