2018: What's In Store For F&B? | R&S Logistics

It’s a new year and all food and beverage enterprises will need to address the right issues to keep up in 2018. If you plan to remain competitive in the next 12 months and beyond, R&S Logistics has rounded up a few of the challenges your F&B business must be ready to face head on.

Food Safety
Clearly, the issue of food safety is one that will always be at the forefront of the entire F&B industry. According to the CDC, there are more than 250 foodborne diseases, which infect 48 million people every year. For F&B companies, contamination can become a logistical and PR nightmare. Food safety is an important factor every step along the way, from product design to supply chain sourcing, quality control, packaging, distribution and more. In 2018 it will be important to tighten up compliance across the board and look for ways to optimize your processes for improved safety.

Safety Compliance
Signed into law in 2011, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) reformed national food safety laws by shifting industry focus from simply responding to contamination to actually preventing it. The FSMA rules contain five key elements:

• Preventative controls
  
• Inspection and compliance
  
• Imported food safety
  
• Response
  
• Advanced partnerships
  

In addition to the FSMA, F&B companies must adhere to other food safety regulations around food safety, including workplace safety and health regulations, permit requirements, product and chemical regulations, and so on. Regulatory compliance can seem next to impossible, but will become attainable if you keep an accurate and complete overview of regulations and regulatory requirements as they are modified.

Supply Chain
Here’s another point where it pays to work with a third party logistics partner fully understands your needs, risks, and vulnerabilities within the supply chain among all parties involved in producing, storing, and distributing ingredients and products. Proper F&B supply chain management is particularly complex, but much easier with a team of experts like R&S Logistics.

Are you ready to optimize your business in 2018? We are here to help as your very own team of F&B logistics experts. Visit our website today to request your free quote and to learn more about our valuable services.