Who doesn't like chocolate? Eating a good luxurious piece of chocolate brings joy to most people however as a chocolate producer you know just how temperamental its production process can be.
In this blog, we discuss briefly the challenges food producers face before and during the chocolate production process and how platforms such as NotaZone can empower in making the process efficient and effective.
Food safety concerns begin even before the raw ingredients reach the chocolate producers' production floor. An authentic and trustworthy supply chain can play a key role in ensuring the best quality of chocolate is sourced.
Physical, chemical and microbiological hazards such as cross-contamination from fertilisers, pests, dust, wood or growth of salmonella microbes and mould in case of poor storage can be prevalent in this stage.
Once the chocolate production process begins, insufficient roasting times and temperatures along with cross-contamination from foreign objects play an important role. From tempering to final packaging, the chocolate producer has to be vigilant of metal or plastic materials falling into the chocolate, microbiological contamination or contamination due to labelling ink, packing materials and foreign objects.
For most, many of the food safety pitfalls can be easily avoided by creating and adhering to an effective prerequisite food safety plan. The plan usually consists of pest control, cleaning programmes and waste control. Other factors such as hygiene on the production floor, use of PPC, training and preventative measures plan contribute to a safe production process.
A big part of an effective food safety plan is the accuracy with which meters, thermometers, gauges, PH meters, metal detectors, timing devices, scales and pressure gauges are recorded.
NotaZone, NotaZone’s food traceability and inventory management platform enable chocolate producers to use its HaCCP module to record and update critical control points. Easy, accurate and available from anywhere at any time using the cloud, food producers can access vital information quickly and always be audit ready.
If you would like to book a free demo and find out how other chocolate producers are using NotaZone’s food traceability to empower their business, get in touch today!