LIMS Benefits Beverage Sector

The LIMS automates repeatable laboratory processes, allowing lab managers and scientists to better monitor the laboratory environment, as well as making critical information available as soon as it is processed.

A Paperless System

Historically, data recording within the food and beverage industry has been a paper-based process. The newest food safety regulations are putting increasing pressure on companies to move away from a manual, paper-based system for many reasons, including traceability and accuracy of data.

Investing in a system that can effectively maintain their records means that companies need an automated system that can manage data and securely store results and reporting—functionality enabled by a LIMS.

Bacardi recognizes the need for a shift away from a paper-based system. In fact, the company has identified that transition as its main challenge, striving to do as much reporting as possible in an electronic format—not always easy within a laboratory in which it is quite usual for the technicians to use paper. The Nautilus LIMS is a vital component in helping Bacardi make the switch.

Testing Challenges

FDA legislation not only regulates the technical documentation required from food and beverage companies, but also indicates that all testing equipment must be maintained to a high standard. Additionally, some equipment must be set to a calibration percentage and needs to be frequently examined to ensure this does not falter. A reliable and consistent plan for the maintenance and calibration of equipment is therefore essential within laboratories, and a LIMS solution can provide this. The schedule of a laboratory is managed automatically and regularly by LIMS, and calibration of particular instruments on specific timetables can be included.

The testing facilities at Bacardi’s Geneva site largely process and analyze natural ingredients, including botanicals, extracts, and flavors. One of the key issues in these laboratories is, therefore, expiration of batches. To address this risk, a focus on quality is needed and a flexible LIMS solution is crucial. Moreover, the incoming sample volume continues to rise each year, and, with it, concern over efficiency of the testing process also grows.

With challenges and concerns such as these, which are found in most food and beverage laboratories, the functionality built into the LIMS can become invaluable to the efficient operations of the lab, along with the quality, sample, and document controls necessary to meet any regulatory requirements. A LIMS can record the time a sample arrives in the laboratory and the point at which it is validated, verifying every step of the process. This allows Bacardi to produce a monthly report, which calculates each step of the process, providing an indication of how time is being spent and highlighting areas of the process that could be improved upon. High efficiency can be provided whether the sample number is 10 or 10,000.

Reporting and Security

Typical food safety laboratories spend a large amount of time manually preparing reports The LIMS allows lab managers to automate this time-consuming process using reusable templates, embedded calculations, and inbuilt instrument data management functionality. By automating the data collection process from instruments through calculations, all the way to the final result appearing upon a report, means that laboratory supervision is no longer required to validate each individual’s results, saving personnel time in collating and preparing manual reports.

First and foremost, the safety of food products is top priority for companies within the industry. Using a LIMS means that contaminated products are far less likely to be shipped out and reach consumers. Users of LIMS are rapidly alerted to any unexpected results within the testing procedure or to results that are out of tolerance. Therefore, along with food safety assurance, a LIMS can provide brand security by preventing scandals regarding contamination.