BERTRAND Food is an EU-certified organic business which is regularly audited by at least three independent bodies—both announced and unannounced—in all its business areas. This ensures high quality and increased traceability, transparency, and confidence in our products. In the blog series “QS” we present the various aspects of quality assurance at BERTRAND Food.

Today we will discuss the traceability of raw goods.

Do the oats delivered two months ago actually come from the field of Mecklenburg farmer Heinrich, or do they come from farmer Jørgen from Denmark?

In an emergency, one can find this out quickly through an interlocking system.

Incoming goods

All the goods we receive in production are subjected to a formal incoming goods inspection process. Here, an authorized employee ascertains that all goods are in proper condition. Do the delivered goods match the ordered goods? Are the goods correctly labeled? Are the goods undamaged? Have they been delivered on the correct pallets? Is the hygienic standard of the truck of the freight forwarder up to par? Etc. Only when all these criteria have been satisfactorily met do the raw goods pass through the hall door.

The goods receipt code

Each item that has come through thus far is assigned a permanent and scannable code, which allows us to identify the raw goods. Which supplier is responsible for the goods? Who has examined and received the goods? When were the goods received? Which freight forwarder has delivered the goods? Any and all information that may be relevant later is recorded and stored in the goods receipt code.

The combination

When creating the recipe of BERTRAND, the goods receipt codes of the individual ingredients are scanned via a terminal and compiled onto a production certificate. The finished recipe is then assigned a lot number, through which all the information on the respective recipe can be accessed. This lot number and the best-before date are then printed without contact onto the individual packaging. You can find it on the back of your packaging and on the cap of your bottle.

Traceability

All of our suppliers operate a similar system. Should it become relevant whether the oats delivered two months ago come from the field of Mecklenburg farmer Heinrich or from farmer Jørgen from Denmark, then we can simply access this information, and we can also pass it on. To you! This is just one of the advantages of a modern quality management system. Are you interested in the topic? Then follow us on Facebook or Twitter and never miss a blog post!