Meat from U.S. mad cow traced to 8 states, Guam:
Some Meat From Sick Cow Was Sent to 8 States, Guam:

The "mad cow" scare and the resultant, massive beef recall are only the most current and most sensational instances of product recalls related to food safety or quality. While the major news outlets track the spreading ramifications of the recently-discovered, BSE-infected Washington dairy cow, the web site http://www.safetyalerts.com/ lists details about dozens of other recent food recalls, ranging from 2.3 million pounds of chicken recalled by Tyson Foods, to 120 cans of baby formula recalled by Nestle.

These product recalls affect hundreds of touch-points in the complex US food supply chain, and they cost food processors, manufacturers, distributors, retailers and foodservice operators billions of dollars every year. Consequently, companies in the food industry are becoming more proactive about implementing systems and processes which will both reduce the likelihood of product safety incidents that necessitate recalls, and enable more rapid and comprehensive response when such incidents do occur. MetricStream provides Enterprise Quality and Compliance Management Solutions specifically tailored to help food companies more effectively respond to these urgent challenges.

Businesses and supply chains are becoming ever more complex, and data more voluminous. Companies in regulated industries increasingly require integrated software systems deployable throughout the extended enterprise, for complete control over and visibility into quality processes and regulatory compliance. In the food industry, effective tracking systems and the ability to trace the origins of livestock or raw materials throughout the supply chain can help manufacturers and processors, growers and ranchers, retailers, and regulators minimize risk to consumers and reduce the costs associated with product recalls.

Quality*Stream, MetricStream's fully-integrated, web-based Enterprise Quality and Compliance Management Solution, helps companies ensure adherence to product quality specifications and standards across thousands of locations and hundreds of suppliers, recover costs that result from non-conforming products from suppliers, and monitor and manage responses to adverse events including product recalls. Quality*Stream is a complete suite of business applications that automates enterprise-wide quality management activities and enables compliance with regulatory standards. Food companies employing Quality*Stream can realize substantial benefits:

• Protect brand image and market share by ensuring consistent quality of products and service
• Enable earlier detection and faster response to adverse events through management dashboards, analytics and real-time dissemination of quality information
• Reduce liability from food-borne illness events Reduce materials and ingredients costs through recovery of Cost of Poor Quality from suppliers
• Provide incentive to suppliers to consistently raise quality by tying business volume to quality performance scores
• Ensure compliance with quality and safety regulations, and reduce costs of regulatory compliance, through automation of quality management tasks

Quality*Stream ties together critical quality processes, communications and data from dispersed locations, corporate headquarters, customers and suppliers. The result is a comprehensive quality management system which speeds resolution of quality issues, helps prevent quality problems through dissemination of localized knowledge, and provides for greater transparency and accountability in all quality-related processes.

MetricStream's solutions are already being used by some of the country's top food companies. For more information on MetricStream and its solutions for the food industry, please contact: MetricStream - 650-620-2955/2935, or info@metricstream.com

MetricStream's solutions for the food industry

About MetricStream
MetricStream is an enterprise software company that provides the first truly unified Enterprise Quality and Compliance Management System for global corporations. MetricStream provides a scaleable and extensible web-based solution for closed-loop control and continuous improvement of quality related processes. MetricStream's Quality and Compliance Management software, Quality*Stream is built on MetricStream's flagship patent pending EPM Platform technology. MetricStream's suite of products includes Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA), Non-Conformance Management (NCM), Inspection, Document Management, Complaints Management, Equipment Management, Variance, Out-of-Specification (OOS), Training and Audits. MetricStream is headquartered in Redwood Shores, California with offices in Atlanta, GA, Vienna, VA, and Bangalore, India.

For more information, please contact:
Public Relations
MetricStream Inc.
650-620-2932
pr@metricstream.com