Next week we will be joining the 23,000 attendees and 1,200 other exhibitors at IFT in Chicago.

We’ve made huge improvements to our platform specifically tailored to the food industry and will be sharing the latest updates. Be sure to stop by our booth to say hello and get your free supplier assessment.

(RELATED: Shine a light on your supply chain with a FREE FOOD SUPPLIER ASSESSMENT.)

Today, we have Patty on the blog to share more about her experience using FDAzilla…

Ben: Hello Patty, 1st question. Who are you and how have you used FDAzilla?

Patty: Hi Ben and FDAzilla readers.

I worked in the food industry for over 34 years in food safety, quality assurance, and regulatory support for a major food manufacturer and food ingredient supplier.

I used FDAzilla to look up inspection information for our suppliers, easily track plant inspections for current sites, research peers, and learn more about potential sites during due diligence.

Ben: Awesome, tell me more about the FDAzilla tools you used for supplier compliance tracking.

Patty: When our supplier team was visiting a supplier site — current or potential — we would look up the supplier’s inspection history. If they had any 483s or warning letters, that was great info for our auditor to include in the audit and to determine if the corrective action was effective and sustainable.  

Ben: Yes, I’ve heard that seeing the inspection history of a site with all the 483s linked is especially helpful.

What do you think is the most valuable aspect of the platform when it comes to doing research on peers?

Patty: Benchmarking — you can see how your facilities’ performance stacks up against your peers. Are my facilities getting fewer 483s or warning letters?

And, now with the newest improvements to the FDAzilla Enforcement Analytics platform, I know more than just the numbers (25% 483 rate, one WL, for example). Now I can pull up the actual 483s and Warning Letters and read the citations with my own list of keywords highlighted.

You can use this information to review your own programs — making food safer — and it gives you a jump on how the agency is viewing/enforcing particular issues. These insights can provide an added bonus — you don’t get cited when the FDA visits your facility.

The key word and CFR code search has been especially useful as FSMA continues to roll out.  How did investigators look at programs at peer facilities? What are they citing for 21 CFR 117?

Thanks Patty!

Come to our booth to do some searches on the platform & find answers to these questions:

  • Want to know how many times a CFR code was cited in your peer group over the past 3 years and be able to see what the citation said?
  • It’s great to have hard-copy files or PDFs of all your inspections, but wouldn’t it be great to have charts showing your history?
  • How would you like to have the charts automatically update as new inspections occur so you can easily see the impact of your new/improved programs?
  • Do you have more than 1 plant location — perhaps some that were acquired recently — and would like to track and trend inspections for all of your locations? Trend new and existing locations?
  • How does your supplier stack up against country & peer trends?

We look forward to seeing you!

(NOTE: Want to know what enforcement actions are happening in your supply chain? Get your FREE SUPPLIER ASSESSMENT.)

Header Image Provided By www.iftevent.org

About the Author

Ben Anderson is FDAzilla’s Senior Account Executive.