FOODTRAK Newsletter

IN THIS ISSUE

April 2019

Take a close look at our CEO's picture! He is posing with a vintage Northstar computer. It's the platform the original FOOD-TRAK system ran on in 1980... complete with 56K of RAM and two, 360K floppy drives. 40 years look pretty good on both Bill and the Northstar!

TOPICS WORTH READING ABOUT

CEO Article Spotlight

Times have changed! One out of every three clients we work with are asking for nutritional information for their menu items.This is due in part to a focus by consumers on healthier diets, but also has become the focus of the government - specifically the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Read more...

Tech Corner

Microsoft will be ending its extended support period for SQL Server 2008 in July of this year. While FOOD-TRAK may be able to run on SQL Server 2008 for some time, we will not be able to guarantee that and as a result will be using SQL Server 2012 as our new minimum SQL version requirement for all updates and new versions of the FOOD-TRAK System. Read more...

News You Can Use - FMA Scanner Version!

Trainer's Tip

On any Form Selection screen you can go to the Modified column and use the drop down arrow to select newest to oldest. This will bring all the recently created forms to the top of the page. This makes finding the last form you worked on so much faster and simpler! Read more...

CEO Article Spotlight - Time to Think About Providing Nutritional Information?

The following article was featured in the January/February 2019 issue of Boardroom Magazine. It has been modified for client publication.

Times have changed! For most of the past 38 years that I have been working with food service companies to control their food and beverage costs, mere handfuls of clients have requested nutritional information for their menu items. In the past 3-4 years however, things have drastically changed. Now, one out of every three clients we work with are asking for it. Our nutrition module, once used only by schools, hospitals and markets is now being requested across all spectrums of the industry.

This is due in part to a focus by consumers on healthier diets, but also has become the focus of the government - specifically the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The agency has taken an interest in legislating who needs to provide this information, and specifically what information they must provide.

The FDA has recently created rules for chain restaurants and other food service organizations providing food to the public. Depending on their size, they may be required to provide nutrition data for every item on the menu. So far, this rule does not apply to clubs, but consumers are starting to request this information from everyone. Many of our clients have started providing nutritional information to their guests upon request, even though they may not currently be required to do so.

The FDA rules require that either an analysis is done by an accredited laboratory, or by using software that works with the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) published nutrition databases. The USDA maintains two databases for nutritional information. The Standard Reference database contains 7,793 raw ingredients and is useful for things like produce, meats, seafood and other generic raw materials. The other database - called the Branded database - is a collection of manufactured items like pre-made sauces and other items that are made up of numerous ingredients proprietary to the manufacturer. This database contains 239,533 items. These databases are constantly expanding and the numbers presented here are as of September of 2018.

Some of the more powerful F&B Management systems offer a nutrition module, which allows users to cross-reference nutritional information to each food item they purchase. The nutrients are brought into the client database and associated with each raw ingredient. When recipes are constructed, the nutrients of each recipe ingredient are added together to form a total or composite amount of each nutrient. In addition to specific nutrients, calories, fat carbohydrates and protein values are calculated along with percentage of daily requirement values.

Rules for nutrition labels are very specific, and all labels must conform to the example shown. Therefore, the software that does the calculations should be able to produce these labels. In addition to labels, which may not be useful to organizations for anything other than grab and go packaged items, the software should also be able to produce reports that list this information in a way that could be provided to guests on request. There is no required format for the reports, so different systems will print different types of reports, and should be examined to determine if they would be appropriate for handouts.

Another key component of any nutrition module should be the ability to identify allergens and display them on labels and reports. This capability helps protect guests against consuming items to which they may be sensitive or allergic, but it can also protect the organization from associated liability. By printing reports on menu items that identify allergens, glutens, MSG or other components diners may be trying to avoid, servers can also be educated to inform diners. Many restaurants now ask diners if they have any food allergies or dietary restrictions before taking the order.

As I mentioned, only in the past few years has this information become more frequently requested. This trend is expected to continue, and at some point may even be mandated by the government for all food service organizations as opposed to the limited set now required to provide it. Systems which allow inventory tracking and especially recipe costing are the ideal way for food service operators to gain this capability. Stand-alone nutrition systems, while effective in providing the required information, also require double effort.

News You Can Use - FMA Scanner Version!

The FOOD-TRAK Mobile App (FMA) scanner version is now available! The same great FMA software configured and customized for Zebra ruggedized Android scanners. Scan bar codes instantly with a single button or trigger - no more centering a camera on a bar code. The scanner version is the same cost as the FMA standard version - just order from our list of scanners and we do the rest - installation, testing and shipping. Already have FMA? You can also swap your standard version FMA for the scanner version if you like at no charge. Call your account manager for details!

Tech Corner

Microsoft will be ending its extended support period for SQL Server 2008 in July of this year. As a result, we will be ending our support for this platform as well. While FOOD-TRAK may be able to run on SQL Server 2008 for some time, we will not be able to guarantee that and as a result will be using SQL Server 2012 as our new minimum SQL version requirement for all updates and new versions of the FOOD-TRAK System.

We have seen some issues in the past with SQL Server 2008 compatibility and have made some changes to resolve these issues, but will no longer be doing so after July 1st of this year. Therefore, we strongly suggest that all our clients still using SQL Server 2008 (for FOOD-TRAK) upgrade in the next few months. We recommend upgrading to the latest FOOD-TRAK compatible version which is SQL 2016, but SQL 2012 and SQL 2014 will be supported for many years to come and are perfectly acceptable.

Should you require assistance, our support team is available to help you upgrade your version of SQL Server as a fee-based service. To schedule assistance, please contact your account manager.

Trainer's Tips

Featured Offering - Purchase Nutrition and get the Training Class for Free!

Times have changed! The number of requests for more nutritional information has skyrocketed in the last 3 to 4 years. This is primarily due to recent changes made by the FDA requiring more nutritional information to be available for guests from restaurant chains with 20 or more locations. However, most food service organizations are complying with the mandate because some of their guests are now requesting it.

Well ahead of the FDA's 2020 deadline, FOOD-TRAK's nutrition facts labels have been updated to the most current guidelines. Your FOOD-TRAK recipes can be printed in a new, easy-to read format that differs from the old guidelines in the following ways.

In addition, ingredient allergens can be tracked in FOOD-TRAK and included in our nutrition facts label. And for those of you who have been wanting to print ingredient labels for your grab and go items, the latest version of FOOD-TRAK includes an ingredient box where you can enter information that will print on the label.

Curious about our nutrition labels? Currently they print on Avery label #94260, and Avery label #5163, as well as 8.5" x 11". If there's another label size your organization needs, let us know!

The FOOD-TRAK nutrition labels can provide you with calorie count for your menu board as well as more detailed nutritional information that you can make available to your clients in a book or on your website.

FOOD-TRAK nutrition processes operate the same way as previous versions. You can either match a purchased item up with the most currently-published USDA database or enter your own nutritional data. Then watch your nutritional data roll up at the recipe level and your nutritional reports are ready for you!

In this issue's CEO Spotlight, Bill talks about the importance of not only providing information about calories to guests, but also to have the ability to track nutritional information associated with recipes and make the necessary adjustments as recipes or tastes change. With the FOOD-TRAK Nutrition Module's new ability to identify allergens and display them on labels and reports, organizations can help their guests avoid allergic reactions.

To celebrate the release of the upgraded Nutrition Module, we are offering a FREE one-hour FOOD-TRAK University training class focusing on the Nutrition Module with the purchase or lease (hosted clients only) of the Nutrition Module license ($1,995 purchased or $665/yr leased).

Offering - Purchase the Nutrition Module and get the FOOD-TRAK University Course on Nutrition for FREE! Purchase by June 30th, 2019 to take advantage of the offer - take the class any time within the next 12 months.

Class offered:
CUL 200: Nutrition
Adding Nutritional Information to Purchased Items, calculating Nutritional Information for recipes and printing Nutrition reports and labels.

Duration: 60 min $100 value (free with purchase or lease of Nutrition Module)

Welcome New Clients

		Westfield Country Club Westfield Center,OH
		Kiawah Island Golf Resort Kiawah Island, SC
		Caesars Windsor Hotel and Casino Windsor, Ontario

Boot Camp 2019

July 9 - 12 Baltimore Country Club, Baltimore, MD

September 17 - 20 Cherokee Town and Country Club, Atlanta, GA

Turn your 2019 F&B goals into tangible results by joining us for Boot Camp! This 4-day instructor led training seminar provides attendees with an interactive and engaging classroom experience, including lectures, demonstrations, hands-on workshops and valuable interaction with other users. Boot Camp dates and locations have been finalized for 2019, so if you can't join us or would like to host a seminar at your facility let us know! Fill out the form below to submit your location.