Eurofins Adds Steton’s Auditing Software Technology To Increase its Ability to Assure Food Safety

Even though the number of people afflicted with foodborne illnesses has decreased by 40 percent in the U.S. since 1999, Eurofins wants to do more to improve food safety. To that end, the company is merging its food safety services with Steton’s auditing software to increase transparency, corrective action implementation, and create a safer food chain.

SALT LAKE CITY – June 25, 2015 – Beginning this month, Steton Technology Group’s business performance auditing software will be added to Eurofins’ food-safety services. This will allow Eurofins’ clients to not only access and manage all the data collected via a single database— even if it’s from multiple locations worldwide — but also increase their ability to minimize foodborne illnesses by increasing transparency and providing easier access to actionable data.

Eurofins, with more than 200 laboratories worldwide, says its goal is to do whatever it takes to minimize the risk of foodborne illnesses such as listeria, salmonella and E-coli. According to the Center for Disease Control, the latest annual estimate of those affected by foodborne illness in the U.S. is 48 million, or one out of every six Americans, versus an estimated 76 million U.S. citizens affected by a foodborne illness in 1999.

“Our objective is to find ways to improve food safety in food manufacturing facilities,” said Eurofins’ Director of Food Safety Systems Gary Smith. “Since 1999, food safety has improved by 40 percent. Obviously, we still have a lot of work to do because 48 million getting sick from foodborne illness is still too many. But
there is evidence that the work companies like ours are doing is having an effect.”

Smith said his company expects adding technology that more effectively manages food-auditing data will make it easier for food product suppliers and manufacturers to meet the food safety quality requirements of buyers. Eurofins has renamed Steton’s auditing technology “Eurofins Audit Portal,” or “EAP,” for short.

“EAP will allow our clients to have one system to see all their laboratory results and another system to see all their food safety audit data,” said Smith. “The audit data will help clients better identify their non-conformances and manage their corrective actions.”

Eurofins began food audits in 2010 using Excel spreadsheets for reporting. If a client had multiple locations, a separate audit report was manually generated for each location.

“If our technology helps Eurofins make the food supply chain safer for everyone, then we consider that a vital mission accomplished,” said Steton President and CEO Marty Tidwell. “If food suppliers have more usable, actionable information, that will drive improvement within food supplier facilities, which will improve food safety.”

Eurofins is recognized for its efforts and capabilities in the field of food safety by primary manufacturers, suppliers, retailers, distributors, and processors. Eurofins offers third party food safety audits, which ensure impartial results and guard against potential conflict of interest. Companies participating in food safety audits receive complete technical examinations of their plant covering product integrity, consumption safety and regulatory exposure. For more information, visit www.eurofinsus.com/food-safety.

Steton is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. Its business performance software is currently used by more than 285,000 customers worldwide and conducts more than 1.7 million assessments in the food service, hospitality and retail industries. For more information, visit www.steton.com.

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