The advantages of digitalizing self-checks in terms of food safety

Food safety is a crucial concern for Quality Managers. Self-checks play a central role in the implementation of effective measures, but are often difficult to manage and tedious. The digitalization of these self-checks offers many advantages to improve risk management in this sector. Professionals talk about saving at least 50% of time on the implementation of HACCP¹ procedures. However, less than 30% of food industry companies currently use digital solutions to manage their HACCP programs².

What is the digitalization of self-checks?

Digitizing self-checks makes data collection easier by allowing people in the field to enter information directly on a mobile app instead of filling out paper forms manually.

Digitalization reduces data entry errors and saves time. Collected data is automatically stored in a centralized database, often in the cloud, making it easier to analyze and use.

The digitalization of self-checks improves the quality of life of your field teams by offering simple and intuitive use of mobile applications. The functionalities help them focus on their work rather than on data entry, and adopt good practice in line with brand standards and hygiene rules. For example:

• alerts to remind you of tasks to be performed;
• checklists to follow procedures;
• support in case of non-compliance.

In addition, the digitalization of self-checks gives Quality Managers better visibility on the status of their food safety. The data collected is automatically stored in a centralized database, which allows the different managers to monitor the activity and access dashboards. This helps to quickly identify potential problems and take action to remedy them.

In addition to improving the quality of life for people in the field and site managers, digitizing self-checks also improves food safety through data analysis. Using analytical algorithms, you can identify the highest risk sites and take the necessary steps to correct them. 

Digital self-checks also offers benefits in terms of regulatory compliance. The data collected can be exported to demonstrate compliance with food safety standards and shared with regulatory authorities.

Finally, the digitalization of self-checks also improves communication between the various stakeholders involved in food safety management. The applications can include message notification functionalities, allowing the different sites to be informed in real time of incidents or to receive best practices. This becomes essential to standardize procedures and policies across the group.

To conclude

In conclusion, the digitalization of self-checks is the most important first step in improving food safety in your business. Digital food control applications offer many benefits, from simplifying data collection to standardizing procedures to analyzing data to identify the highest risk sites. It's a smart investment for food companies concerned with keeping their customers and employees safe. The benefits in terms of productivity, regulatory compliance and communication are simply invaluable.

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¹ Future Market Insights study published in 2020
² Technavio study published in 2020