Archive for the ‘Sourcing Safe Products’ Category

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What can you do to lower your risk from BPA?

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

I was reading USA TODAY this morning and there was an article by Wendy Koch titled Study: Eating fresh food lowers BPA in systems. The article actually addresses BPA and DEHP and the impact that a fresh diet has on their levels within a person system.

Although I love my vegetables, I’m not sure I can move to a completely fresh diet, but the Silent Spring Institute that conducted the study does offer the following six steps that individuals can take to limit their risk.

1. Fresh is best
2. Eat in
3. Store it safe
4. Don’t microwave in plastic
5. Brew the old-fashioned way
6. Take action

For more detail on each of these items, visit the following Silent Springs link.

We look forward to and appreciate your opinions.

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Here are Forty-five (45) good reasons why all buyers’ jobs are the most important job in the country.

Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

How many products are recalled annually by various agencies after they have had a negative impact on the consumer? Here are the March 2011 Recalls and Product Safety News from the Consumer Product Safety Council (CPSC)

1. Kingsman Fireplaces Recalls Gas Fireplaces Due to Laceration Hazard
2. Lasko Recalls Box Fans Due To Fire Hazard
3. CPSC Warns: As Button Battery Use Increases, So Do Battery-Related Injuries and Deaths
4. Gerber Legendary Blades Recalls Combo Axe Due to Laceration Hazard
5. Ocean Technology Systems Recalls Guardian Full-Face Diving Masks Due to Drowning Hazard
6. Second Infant Death Prompts Re-Announcement of Delta Enterprise “Safety Peg” Drop-Side Crib Recall to Repair
7. Scotch Corporation Recalls Instant Power Toilet Bowl Restorer
8. Government Investigation Raises Concerns About Pool and Spa Drain Cover Testing and Entrapment Risks
9. CPSC and HUD Issue Updated Remediation Protocol for Homes with Problem Drywall
10. Maruyama U.S. Recalls Backpack Blowers and Mister Dusters Due to Fire Hazard
11. Kawasaki Motor Recalls Backpack Blowers Due to Fire Hazard
12. Girls’ Jeans for Toddlers Recalled by Parigi Due to Choking Hazard
13. Pogo Sticks Recalled by Bravo Sports Due to Risk of Serious Injury
14. Matilda Jane Recalls Girl’s Chelsa Dress Due to Choking Hazard
15. American Suzuki Motor Corp. Recalls QuadSport ATVs Due to Crash Hazard
16. 8th Grader from Hawaii Wins Grand Prize in CPSC’s Carbon Monoxide Poster Contest
17. CPSC Urges Consumers to Spring Forward with Safety in Mind; Replace Smoke & CO Alarm Batteries This Sunday for Daylight Saving Time
18. CPSC Launches New Consumer Product Safety Information Database Today; SaferProducts.gov database delivered on time, on budget for the public
19. American Suzuki Motor Corp. Recalls KingQuad ATVs Due to Fire Hazard
20. Atico International USA Recalls Holiday Rattle Baby Slippers Due to Choking Hazard; Sold Exclusively at Walgreens
21. Rocky Mountain Bicycles Recalled by Procycle Due to Fall Injury Hazard
22. Kid O Products Recalls Wooden Puzzles Due to Choking Hazard
23. “Camp Nod” Lantern Nightlights Recalled Due to Shock and Fire Hazard; Sold Exclusively at The Land of Nod
24. Wall Mount Fireplaces Recalled by Southern Enterprises Due to Fire and Fall Hazards; Sold Exclusively by Home Shopping Network
25. Children’s Hooded Sweatshirts with Drawstrings Recalled by Sunsations Due to Strangulation Hazard
26. Ms. Bubbles Agrees to Pay $40,000 Civil Penalty for Failing to Report Drawstrings on Children’s Jackets
27. Stanley Security Solutions Announces Recall of Door Locksets; Failure of Latches Could Lead to Entrapment in an Emergency
28. Global Industrial Recalls Workbench Components Due To Electrical Shock Hazard
29. Sunbeam Products Recalls Wine Openers Due to Laceration Hazard; Sold by QVC
30. Fun World Recalls Little Pet Vet and Dr. Littles Halloween Costumes with Toy Stethoscopes Due to Choking Hazard
31. Baja Motorsports Recalls Dirt Bikes Sold Exclusively at Pep Boys Due to Fire and Burn Hazards
32. Sanus Elements Surge Protectors Recalled by Milestone AV Technologies Due to Shock Hazard
33. Sunjoy Industries Recalls Outdoor Wood Burning Fireplaces Sold Exclusively at Lowe’s Stores Due to Fire Hazard
34. Manhattan Group Recalls Parents Wooden Activity Toys Due to Choking Hazard
35. AOSOM Recalls Wooden Playpens Due to Choking and Laceration Hazards
36. IKEA Recalls Coffee/Tea Makers Due to Burn and Laceration Hazards
37. Liebherr Recalls Built-In Refrigerators Due to Injury Hazard; Door Can Detach
38. CPSC Chairman To Honor Consumer Product Safety Leaders
39. Rattles Recalled by Rhino Toys Due to Choking Hazard
40. Burlington Coat Factory Recalls Slow Cookers Due to Fire Hazard
41. Lennox Hearth Products Recalls Natural Gas Log Set Burner Assemblies Due to Risk of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
42. Dick’s Sporting Goods Recalls Fitness Resistance Tubes Due to Contusion and Laceration Hazards
43. Tommy Bahama Recalls Mini-Tin Candle Travel Sets Due to Burn Hazards
44. FAB/Starpoint Recalls Circo Beaded Door Curtains Due to Risk of Strangulation; Sold Exclusively at Target
45. Baby Jogger LLC Recalls Baby Jogger Jump Seats Due to Fall Hazard

This comes down to buyers asking the right questions of their incumbent and prospective suppliers relative to products and related issues and how suppliers address them, report them and test to make sure they do not happen in the first place. If that is not an indicator of a buyer’s importance in the supply chain, what is?

We look forward to and appreciate you input.

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What are you doing to include green strategies in your procurement process?

Wednesday, March 9th, 2011

A first step for companies is to develop an SOP that includes evaluating your existing and potential new sources supply. A good way to begin this process is to author a GREEN RFI prior to all e-negotiation events. Eliminate the suppliers that don’t seem to have any SOP’s in place based on their RFI responses.  Upon event completion hold low bid suppliers accountable by visiting those suppliers’ facilities prior to the actual award of business and base your final decision on RFI result confirmation. During the RFI process make insure that the following types of questions are included with which to evaluate your existing and new sources supply.

1. Please list all of your companies CSR initiatives.
2. Does your company support TBL reporting?
3. What environmental permits and certifications are in place?
4. Do you have readily available audit results? 
5. Please list all of your pollution prevention controls.
6. What are your hazardous materials handling process.
7. What is your waste management plan?
8. What do you do to insure clean air emissions?
9. Does your company maintain product formulas and content traceability?
10. Please list your product safety plans and certifications.
11. Do construction projects follow LEED?

Once suppliers have been retained or selected, offer to train them as to how to include this process with their own sources of supply and other business partners. This may include offering how your trace the overall benefits of being a green company to your bottom line (TBL) as well as other initiatives you have taken internally with associates and other stake holders to support your internal CSR initiatives.

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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What are ISO environmental standards?

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011

ISO has published a brochure providing a basic introduction, as its title indicates, to Environmental management – The ISO 14000 family of International Standards. The 12-page, color brochure is the most current edition of a successful publication first released in 1998, two years after the launching of the first standards in the ISO 14000 family

The International Organization for Standardization widely known as ISO, is an international standard -setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates world-wide industrial and commercial standards. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. While ISO defines itself as a non – governmental, its ability to set standards that often become law, either through treaties or national standards makes it more powerful than most non-governmental organizations. In practice, ISO acts as a consortium with strong links to governments.

The SafeSourceIt™ Supplier Database holds it suppliers accountable to many ISO standards including 14000, 7002, 9001 and 22000.

How do you hold your suppliers accountable?

We look forward to and appreciate your comments

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How does your company support food safety in your e-procurement process?

Friday, January 28th, 2011

The?SafeSourceIt? global? supplier database includes more than 35 safety and environmental standards and certifications?that suppliers are vetted against. The Certified Humane Raised and Handled? program is one of them.

The Certified Humane Raised and Handled? program is a certification and labeling program that is the only animal welfare label requiring the humane treatment of farm animals from birth through slaughter.? The goal of the program is to improve the lives of farm animals by driving consumer demand for kinder and more responsible farm animal practices.? When you see the Certified Humane Raised and Handled? label on a product you can be assured that the food products have come from facilities that meet precise, objective standards for farm animal treatment.
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The Certified Humane Raised and Handled? label assures consumers:
??That the producer meets our standards and applies them to animals from birth through slaughter.
??Animals have ample space, shelter and gentle handling to limit stress.
??Ample fresh water and a healthy diet of quality feed, without added antibiotics or hormones.
??Cages, crates and tie stalls are among the forbidden practices, and animals must be free to do what comes naturally.? For example, chickens are ale to flap their wings and dust bathe, and pigs have the space to move around and root.

We look forward to an appreciate your comments

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What information should we know about our supply chain partners?

Tuesday, January 25th, 2011

With the number of food born illness issues during the last couple of years, one area that is difficult to keep up with is food industry safety.

The SafeSourceIt? Supplier Database has grown to over 380,000 global suppliers. During the same timeframe the number of certifications we monitor for these suppliers has also grown. In the food space three standards that are regularly adhered to are ISO 22000, SQF and GFSI? So, what?s the difference?

In essence, SQF and GFSI are programs administered by two separate organizations CIES and FMI that are supportive of each other and use ISO 9000 and its derivative ISO 22000 as standards guideline towards driving food safety in the global supply chain.

According to Wikipedia, ISO 22000 is a standard developed by the International Organization for Standardization dealing with food safety and is a general derivative of ISO 9000 which sets standards for quality management. As such, ISO 22000 guides food safety management systems – requirements for any organization in the food chain. Since food safety hazards can occur at any stage in the food chain from production to consumption it is essential that adequate control be in place that by the ISO are referred to as Critical Control Points or potential points of failure in the supply chain that when managed properly can mitigate the risk associated with the hazard ever taking place.

The ISO 22000 international standard specifies the requirements for a food safety management system which SQF and GFSI are that involves interactive communication, systems management and prerequisite programs and the principles of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP).This is a systematic preventive approach to food safety which addresses physical, chemical and biological hazards as a means of prevention rather than finished product inspection which could be much more costly.

Think of the ISO as a standards creating body, and SQF and GFSI as programs that at a minimum focus on holding the entire food supply chain accountable to those and other standards.

We look forward and appreciate your comments.

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Clean up in aisle three! What’s your CFL cleanup program?

Tuesday, January 18th, 2011

Well if you hear it now, you might want to think twice before your curiosity kicks in and makes you walk on over to take a look. If you’re at home you should also exercise some caution.

The answer to the opening question is probably more times than you can count. However, this is where it is not quite as easy to be green as one might think. Although CFL’s are the green alternative to traditional lighting alternatives, last longer and offer a lower cost of ownership, they are not quite so easy to dispose of. That’s because the tubes are a hazardous waste item that contain a small amount of with mercury which can be released into the air when they break. This also makes it illegal to dump them in the regular trash when they’re replaced or broken.

Yesterdays edition of USA TODAY actually had an article titled EPA makes cleanup tips for broken CFL bulbs much more realistic by Wendy Koch. Although this article was focused on the home, many of the same issue need to be addressed in retail establishments that sell and use CFL’s. If you want to read the article please click here.

Some times it’s not as easy as just saying you’re green. Plan ahead!

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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Clean up in aisle three! What?s your CFL cleanup program?

Tuesday, January 18th, 2011

Well if you hear it now, you might want to think twice before your curiosity kicks in and makes you walk on over to take a look. If you?re at home you should also exercise some caution.

The answer to the opening question is probably more times than you can count. However, this is where it is not quite as easy to be green as one might think. Although CFL?s are the green alternative to traditional lighting alternatives, last longer and offer a lower cost of ownership, they are not quite so easy to dispose of. That?s because the tubes are a hazardous waste item that contain a small amount of with mercury which can be released into the air when they break. This also makes it illegal to dump them in the regular trash when they’re replaced or broken.

Yesterdays edition of USA TODAY actually had an article titled EPA makes cleanup tips for broken CFL bulbs much more realistic by Wendy Koch. Although this article was focused on the home, many of the same issue need to be addressed in retail establishments that sell and use CFL?s. If you want to read the article please click here.

Some times it?s not as easy as just saying you?re green. Plan ahead!

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.

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Do you want your sourcing to be more environmentally friendly in 2011?

Friday, December 24th, 2010

1. Be pro-active in driving not for resale and for resale product safety within your company, and also supporting eco-standards in the procurement process.
2. Pay it forward with all of your trading partners by sharing what you are doing, and asking what they do to support yours or similar initiatives.
3. Educate your employees and trading partners about common safety standards and guidelines such as the SQF Certificate www.sqfi.com  and the Global Food Safety Initiative www.ciesnet.com.
4. Educate your employees and trading partners about common eco-standards such as Green- Energy National Standard www.green-e.org or EcoLogo www.ecologo.org. 
5. Point associates and trading partners to free educational websites such as www.safesourcing.com to use their free SafeSourcing Wiki or the Sourcebook professional social network for procurement professionals.
6. Only use trading partners that follow your lead.
7. Train your team to understand and use all available tools that insure supply chain safety such the free daily safety in sourcing blog at www.safesourcing.com  or the low cost SafeSourceIt Supplier Database and Reverse Auction Tools.
8. Impose a system of measures and controls to monitor performance against clearly defined goals.
9. Start at the top and engage all levels of your company.

We  look forward to  and appreciate ayour comments.

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Traceability also requires sensibility if you want a safe supply chain.

Thursday, December 16th, 2010

The definition of traceability according to Wikipedia refers to the completeness of the information about every step in a process chain. Traceability is the ability to verify the history, location, or application of an item by means of documented recorded identification.

When the FDA uses this term what they are referring to is the capability of bidirectional traceability or tracing products one step back one step forward. This means identifying the immediate supplier of the product and identifying the immediate recipient of the product, which is not the final retailer.
 
However the process also requires some level of common sense. I’m a man of faith, but blind faith really gets us no where when we are talking about food product traceability. GS1 has created a certification for traceability in cooperation with a number of organizations such as FMI, CIES, BASF and FSQA.

So from a common sense perspective one would believe that all products we consume are safe, that all produce and grain products are traced back to the seed level. Unfortunately this is not the case.

Let’s just examine milk products or byproducts. In a recent blog this author discussed the fact that what is happening in China where 13,000 babies are still hospitalized and over 53,000 babies affected could happen here. Just today we hear that in fact Chinese candy in the United States contains melamine. What other products contain this or other carcinogens that should not be consumed and how can retailers control the introduction of such ingredients in the products they buy for resale.

We look forward to your comments.

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