Meat + Poultry - May 2004 - 63

Digital oversight

By Keith Nunes
knunes@sosland.com

Meat industry gets a taste of
digital auditing

he crux of the Food Safety and Inspection Service's
hazard analysis and critical control point regulations
is meat and poultry processors must do what they

say. If processors are found to be in violation of their HACCP plans
they can be shut down. The stakes could not be higher.
To ensure meat and poultry processors stay in compliance with federal regulations, one company is taking documentation and verification
activities to the next level. Instead of relying on paper trails to ensure
critical control points have not been violated, processors can use digital recording systems to develop a visual verification program.
"Video auditing can improve food safety and ensure the viability
of a company and its products," says Dr. Al Baroudi, president of the
Food Safety Institute International and a food safety, auditing and
animal welfare consultant for Hidden Villa Ranch, Yum Brands, Vons
and other companies.
Baroudi, who has conducted meat and poultry processing inspection training for the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture and the Food and Drug
Administration, adds, "With rising homeland security considerations,
Arrowsight's service is a solution that sets a new standard in food
safety, sanitation and quality assurance."
Arrowsight's remote viewing software was originally developed
and marketed by its division, ParentWatch, and has since become
the remote viewing leader for the child-care community with 10,000
users. Companies including Foot Locker, McDonald's and Pfizer are
also using Arrowsight technology.
The Arrowsight Video Auditing Service monitors the performance
of employees and C.C.P.s and sends managers weekly e-mail "score
cards" summarizing each individual location's performance on a
pass/fail basis. The reports contain hyperlinks to video clips and still
images, providing visual documentation of the events identified by
the auditing service.
E-mailed video audit reports help managers identify whether
C.C.P.s have been followed, and whether security procedures are
being met. Arrowsight customers are provided a secure Web site
where they can view live or recorded video, control digital recorders and cameras, save video to local hard drives and share video
by e-mailing links and comments.
"On a pre-determined frequency managers can receive reports
MAY 2004

showing the percentage of times they were in compliance with the
regulations," says Baroudi. "On another spreadsheet it will show
where each camera is located, the time it was audited and whether it
was a pass or fail situation."
Arrowsight's software incorporates HACCP, sanitation and food
safety criteria and integrates a facility's existing security and monitoring systems, including digital video recorders, point of sale, theft
prevention systems, etc.
"Processors have two choices," says Baroudi. "They can oversee
operations in real time. For example, if they know a temperature is
supposed to be checked at a certain time they can view the operations when the C.C.P. is supposed to be completed. Or, they can use
the auditing service and have someone grade how their employees
are doing following their food safety procedures."
Baroudi adds that the system can be used for training. "Employers
can take images of people doing a job correctly and use that as the

This is a proactive
management tool.
example other employees should follow," he says. "This is a proactive
management tool."
Arrowsight is partnering with ADT Security Services to introduce the technology to the industry. "Most food processing plants
already have some sort of video security system in place," says
Baroudi. "Most of the time we can tap into that system. Monitoring
can be conducted from a central location within a facility or from a
company's headquarters."
"While most employees follow C.C.P. procedures, Arrowsight remote
video auditing offers managers better employee oversight, improves
employee performance and ensures adherence to good manufacturing
practices," says Adam Aronson, C.E.O. of the company.
M&P

www.MEATPOULTRY.com

We would like to hear from you-
your comments and questions
about this article are welcome.
E-mail the author at: knunes@sosland.com

MEAT&POULTRY

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Meat + Poultry - May 2004

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