Winter 2006

Tracing & Tracking, Are you in Compliance?

Bioterrorism Act Deadline is Fast Approaching

By June 9, 2006 all food businesses with 11 – 499 full-time employees must be in compliance with Section 306 of the Bioterrorism Act, the Establishment and Maintenance of Records Rule. 

Larger companies must already be in compliance. 

Very small businesses with 10 or fewer full-time employees have until December 9, 2006 to comply with the rule.

In December of 2004 the FDA issued its final rule on the establishment and maintenance of records to protect the US human food and animal feed supply. This final rule implements Section 306 of the Bioterrorism Act. Companies who manufacture, process, pack, transport, distribute, receive, hold, or import food are all affected by this rule.

With this new rule, companies must follow these guidelines:

• Records must identify the immediate previous source of all food received or all food released.

• Records must identify the immediate subsequent recipient of all food released.

• Records for all human foods must be retained for a period of 6 months to 2 years depending on the shelf life of the product.

• Records for animal foods must be retained for a period of 1 year.

• Records must be retained at the establishment where the activities covered in the records occurred, or at a reasonably accessible location.

• Companies may maintain the records in any format (paper or electronic).

• Records must be available for inspection within less than 24 hours from the receipt of an official request.

For more information on Section 306, other sections, or the latest news on the Bioterrorism Act visit the FDA's Website or click here.

Parity to the Rescue!

Solutions for Bioterrorism Act Compliance

Can you meet the FDA's 24 hour rule for tracing your products and ingredients?

Parity has a long standing tradition of providing the food industry with real solutions to very real problems, compliance with the Bioterrorism Act is just one example.

Parity has developed a number of solutions to help you comply with bioterrorism regulations and other issues that you might face.

For more information on how Parity can help you design the right system for your company to comply, contact Chris Clanton at cclanton@paritycorp.com or by phone at (425) 487-0997 ext.33.

Solution 1.

Parity SCE (Supply Chain Execution) Suite

Solution 2.

Parity Quality Management

Parity SCE (Supply Chain Execution) provides you with the tracing and tracking capabilities needed to comply with the establishment and maintenance of records for your products. Bar coding data collection allows you to trace, as well as track your product as it travels through the manufacturing process and out the door. 

Parity SCE goes beyond tracking where the ingredient came from and where your product will be sent. It tracks all production events, including quality test results and transaction information. All of this data is then linked to the final product and can be easily reviewed. This is done for all materials as they are purchased, placed into inventory and used in production.

Parity SCE also makes the transition from bar coding to RFID (radio frequency identification) smoothly and easily.

Parity Quality Management allows you to be proactive rather than reactive to quality issues. It helps you catch problems with your product before it hits grocery store shelves and consumer stomachs.

Parity Quality Management begins with user-defined quality test specifications and grading parameters unique to your company’s operations. You can then track the status of each production lot, as well as place holds and grades on lots as needed. In addition, the Parity system provides you with the ability to share all of this data in real-time with anyone who may need it.

Certificate of Analysis is a tool for presenting your official lot test results to your customers. The information in these documents is generated automatically by Parity Quality Management. These documents enable you to present your official quality data to your customers or regulatory agencies in a customized manner so that they only see the data they are interested in.

Solution 3.

Parity Business Intelligence Suite

Solution 4.

Parity Consulting

Parity Business Intelligence is a powerful information tool for managing all aspects of your business. It is easy to use, presented through Microsoft Excel™; your information appears in plain English. All the data is organized for immediate recognition and easy navigation. You’ll see your business results, trends, and events in plain English and optimized for solving problems, answering questions and, most importantly, revealing unanticipated knowledge and insight about your operations.

With Parity Business Intelligence you can e-mail your findings to a colleague, create a chart, prepare your case to make an important business decision and back it up with detail.

Parity Business Intelligence lets you explore your business from virtually any point of view. Whether you want to look at a day, a week, month or a year, it’s as easy as a touch of a button.

Experts in the food industry as well as cutting edge technology and business management solutions, Parity Consulting defines and resolves real business objectives. Parity Consulting can set you up with the most efficient way for your company to comply with the Bioterrorism Act.

Parity Consulting offers a wide range of solutions to help you manage the new bioterrorism regulations. Parity Consulting can:

• Evaluate your company’s needs.

• Assist you in making successful buying decisions.

• Provide solutions that fit the unique way your company does business.

• Streamline your operations, improve accuracy, and effectively automate processes.

• Provide important decision making information to the people who need it, in ways that make sense for their job.

• Give you valuable knowledge and insight into your company’s operations.

• Set the stage for your company to comply with future regulations.

New Parity Customers

Valley Processing and Dakota Provisions Select Parity Enterprise

Parity is proud to announce that we have added two great new customers to our client list. Valley Processing and Dakota Provisions have begun implementing Parity Enterprise.

Valley Processing

When the world's biggest juice bottlers go looking for large processing capacity, a variety of pure, pasteurized, filtered fruit concentrates and consistent quality, they choose Valley Processing.

Valley Processing is family owned and operated and has a reputation for quality products and exceptional customer service.

Valley Processing began more than 20 years ago by processing grapes and apples into concentrates, which are then used by other companies to make juice or jellies.

Over the years Valley Processing has grown, expanded its product line and outfitted its facility with state-of-the-art processing equipment. Valley selected Parity Enterprise to support this growth and to help them achieve future goals related to their operation. 

During harvest times, Valley Processing’s staff works 24 hours a day, seven days a week processing fresh fruit. They own and operate cold storage and freezer storage facilities year-round with space available for rent. They also maintain a fleet of trucks to carry their products to customers worldwide.

Parity will be helping Valley Processing to gain control over their growing inventory and to establish clean lot tracing from finished goods to the customer.

In addition, users will be provided with access to a single, integrated database containing all of the information they need to do their job thus eliminating redundant data entry and data manipulation.

Parity’s Sales Management Suite will assist Valley Processing in establishing an efficient, integrated sales order, shipping, and billing process. It will also play a key role in helping Valley Processing to maintain their close relationship with Yakima Valley growers.

In addition, Valley Processing is looking to achieve their financial goals with Parity Enterprise. The Parity system will allow them to establish integrated financial accounting, clear and reliable financial audit trails as well as reduce the time and effort required to prepare and issue financial statements.

For more information on Valley Processing, visit their website at www.valleyprocessing.com.

Dakota Provisions

Beginning in January 2006, Dakota Provisions will manufacture and produce all types of pre-sliced ready-to-eat meats, poultry, and protein products and Parity Enterprise will be there to help them manage it all.

In 2004, 42 turkey growers across the Midwest decided to build their own state-of the art processing facility, the result…Dakota Provisions.

Dakota Provisions was founded with a focus on the family farm, a commitment to quality, and the dedication to building a world class facility in Huron, South Dakota.

When it came time to choose an ERP system, CFO Jim Brown decided to go with Parity Enterprise. Having previously worked with Parity at another operation, he knew the system would be a perfect fit for Dakota Provisions.

Parity Enterprise will provide them with the inventory and financial control they need as well as provide them with all of the benefits of an integrated system. Parity’s

focus on the food industry and experienced, committed team were very important factors in Brown’s decision.

Dakota Provisions’ new facility is the first full-line turkey facility built from scratch since 1988.

Dakota Provisions’ multi-million dollar harvest, debone, and cook facility plant took 15 months to complete. The plant, built with food safety in mind, will have the capacity and equipment to handle more than 8,000,000 live turkeys per year as well as produce complete lines of fully cooked pork, beef, and chicken products. All premium products produced will be geared toward the food service, co-manufacturing, and niche market segments. Each one of their pre-packaged products will be designed exclusively for their retail and food service partners.

The Parity system will serve as a home for all of Dakota Provisions’ manufacturing information. Furthermore, Parity will be integrating with Dakota Provisions’ existing shop floor automated data collection system to increase efficiency and tracking capabilities in their manufacturing process.

Upon opening, the plant will employ over 300 people growing to more than 1,000 within five years. They expect the processing facility to fuel over 320,000,000 lbs of live weight production each year.

For more information on Dakota Provisions, visit their website at www.dakotaprovisions.com.