Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) in the food industry are in place to ensure that the products that consumers use daily are safe for consumption. This includes food, cosmetics, and medicines.
Product recalls can tarnish a brand’s reputation, making adherence to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) in the food industry a crucial aspect of running a food or consumable business.
Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) are a system that ensures all goods produced by manufacturers are done so in accordance with specific standards for quality. GMPs look at all aspects of the manufacturing process to eliminate certain risks that can prove harmful to the products being made. These risks include mislabelling, cross-contamination, and adulteration.
GMPs are vital because they help to ensure that manufacturing facilities adhere to standards regarding proper design, control, monitoring, and processing. By adhering to GMPs, companies can convey to consumers that their products are of good quality, strength, and are easily identifiable.
GMP adherence helps cut down losses and waste, as well as helps protect companies, their consumers, and the environment. Let’s look at the specific aspects of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) in the food industry:
Personnel
GMP compliance is reliant on personnel. As such, every worker within a facility needs to be well-trained and qualified to carry out their assigned tasks in accordance with GMPs. A clear awareness and mastery of the principles of GMP, as well as continuous education about updated rules, must be exhibited at all times.
Facility location
The FDA also stipulates that manufacturing facilities must be in suitable locations free from any contamination risk. Facilities must also be designed in such a way that minimizes the risk of operational errors and must be easy to maintain and keep clean.
Equipment
Pieces of equipment within the facility must also adhere to guidelines on design, location, and maintenance. All equipment must be cleaned regularly, stored in accordance with proper procedures, and repaired or removed when malfunctioning.
Raw materials
Raw materials used in any part of the manufacturing process need to be stored properly and accounted for accordingly. The inventory for such raw materials must also be available, regularly updated, and documented to ensure utmost quality.
Quality management
Quality management focuses on making sure that manufactured products are made to fit their intended use. In the food industry, this encompasses adherence to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) food safety and quality measures. As such, processed products should never be expired, raw, improperly processed, or potentially harmful.
Hygiene and sanitation
Proper hygiene and sanitation are vital when dealing with food manufacturing. This includes all aspects of the manufacturing process that may lead to contamination if appropriate hygiene and sanitation measures are not in place.
Qualification and validation
All steps of the manufacturing process need to be validated to ensure that GMP qualification guidelines are met. Additionally, reviews of the same process must be conducted regularly to ensure product quality remains consistently high.