National Burger Day: Go Beyond the Bun

Whether your customers like their burgers ‘posh’, ‘dirty’ or ‘naked’, for foodservice operators the underlying issue remains the same: ensuring you and your diners know what’s in them.

This extends well beyond provenance, with legislation playing an increasingly pivotal role in menu design and supply chain management.

Antibiotic Anxieties

With burgers often (although not exclusively) made from meat, there’s the potential for them to contain antibiotics. According to our independently conducted research, almost half of foodservice Purchasing Managers state antibiotics in the supply chain as a hazard. What’s more, with increased consumer awareness around the dangers of using antibiotics in the food chain, businesses need to ensure customer safety and trust is upheld, in order to maintain their bottom line.

The global meat market supply chain is vast, with ingredients sourced from multiple suppliers and countries. Ineffective systems, such as paper-based records and manual spreadsheets, can make supply chain risk management more difficult than needs which results in a high administrative burden.

Annoying Allergens

Aside from antibiotics, our research also discovered that 69% of foodservice businesses feel exposed to allergen legislation and the associated risks. A national favourite, the humble burger, can contain everything from soy to sulphur dioxide – not to mention the bun, toppings or associated condiments. Under the EU Food Information for Consumers Regulations establishments need to declare the presence of any substances or products derived from the Annex II list.

The Annex II list: 14 common allergens found in food and drink: celery, gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, nuts, peanuts, sesame seeds, soya and sulphur dioxide/sulphites)

With numerous allergens to account for in order to meet regulations, a raft of supplier information needs to be collected, organised, continuously updated. This then needs to be communicated across the business which can be a daunting task for eateries with complex supply bases and busy schedules.

The Solution

There are several methods generally used for recording, updating and maintaining antibiotic and allergen information, ranging from paper-based systems and manual spreadsheets to specialist software. Each varies in efficiency and effectiveness, for example, paper or spreadsheet-based methods can be notoriously difficult and time-consuming to manage – as well as being subject to human error. Even so, recent research shows that 60% of foodservice operators surveyed use manual systems to manage supplier information.

In response, the industry is increasingly turning to central data monitoring solutions, such as Supplier Information Management software (SIM), which is specifically designed to improve the way supply chain risk is managed. Online SIM systems enable suppliers to upload key information that operators require, such as allergen policies and antibiotic records, and instantly provide them with all of the necessary compliance data. By using specialist technology, such as our ARCUS^® SIM software, automated email alerts and reminder prompts can be set up and suppliers can update information in line with the user’s requirements. Investing in comprehensive digital systems allows businesses to store all supplier information online, and access it quickly and easily from one central place.

Many people claim to know the secret to the perfect burger but an accurate supply chain database has got to be the first ingredient.

Visit our SIM product page for more information on our central platform for collecting, storing and managing supplier data.