Westminster, CO -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/21/2013 -- TraceGains recently hosted a webinar on the Top 10 Reasons for SQF Audit Non Compliance with special speaker, Kristie Grzywinski, Technical Manager for the Food Marketing Institute’s Safe Quality Food Institute (SQFI). Grzywinski emphasized the SQF Program which is designed around the GFSI Industry Scopes as well as 35 different food sector categories to meet the needs of all suppliers. Additionally, SQF offers three levels of certification with a unique approach to food quality that drives continuous improvement. The TraceGains webinar was well-attended by hundreds of food manufacturers and suppliers.

Grzywinski offered tips for compliance including leaders possessing knowledge of the code and how to implement it. She suggested to keep the process simple and not to drown in the paperwork. Grzywinski noted, “Food manufacturers and suppliers should have a strong internal audit program. Take it seriously. Leaders that have a system implementation and maintenance with a team approach usually are much more successful; success can be achieved through diligence, awareness, and commitment from all levels of the organization.”

Grzywinski is responsible for supporting the technical development of the SQF Code and developing educational tools for the SQFI, including the Implementing SQF Systems training course for SQF professionals. Prior to joining SQFI, Grzywinski worked for the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) for 11 years as its director of science and regulatory relations.

TraceGains (http://www.tracegains.com) is for quality, purchasing, product development, and other departments, that are burdened with manually managing suppliers and documents. Supplier documentation storage, whether in file cabinets or in digital formats, may satisfy regulatory retention requirements, but does little to systematically unlock the wealth of business, compliance, and regulatory information they contain and you require on a daily basis to operate successfully.

By automatically analyzing and scorecarding supplier-provided documentation as it is received—such as certificates of analysis, qualification questionnaires, audit documents and their results, certifications (Kosher, Organic, etc.), insurance certificates, allergen questionnaires, and other import requirements (COOL, C-TPAT, FSMA, GFSI), among others—TraceGains helps food and nutraceutical manufacturers and ingredient processors automate document management, meet regulatory and industry compliance requirements, identify best and worst suppliers, source better with less risk, automatically raise product quality, and painlessly perform or participate in audits, all without needing to involve the IT department to help with complex technology.

Some of the food industry categories which have observed significant benefits using TraceGains include baking mixes, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, snack foods, confectionery, dairy, salad dressings, herbs & seasonings, flavors, dips, glazes & marinades, cheese processing and manufacturing, frozen foods, breakfast cereals, dietary supplements, Meals Ready to Eat (MREs), convenience foods, and restaurant chains.

About TraceGains, Inc
TraceGains customers experience on average a 56% reduction in out-of-spec lot receipts, and a 20% reduction in attribute variability, resulting in enhanced continuous improvement, better performing ingredient and raw material inventory, improved cash flow, and long-term brand protection. Follow TraceGains on Twitter at @tracegains.

TraceGains, Inc.
http://www.tracegains.com
Marc Simony
Director of Marketing
pr@tracegains.com
720-465-9400