Incoming Products

Organize raw materials, ingredients, and packaging into categories and groups, then identify hazards for each.

What this is for

The Incoming Products section is where you describe everything that comes into your plant: raw ingredients, packaging materials, processing aids, etc. It’s organized into a three-level tree:

• Categories — top-level buckets (e.g., Raw Ingredients, Packaging, Cleaning Chemicals).
• Groups (optional) — sub-buckets within a category that share default hazards (e.g., Dairy, Cereals).
• Products — individual items with a name, code, description, and tags.

For each product (or group, or category) you can define hazards — biological (B), chemical (C), physical (P), metallic (M), radiological (R), quality (Q), or your own custom types — and evaluate each one with the Decision Tree Wizard to determine the control type (PRP, CCP, PC, or PCP).

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Common tasks

How to add a category

1. In the left sidebar, click + Add category.
2. Type the name and (optionally) a description.
3. Save.

The category appears as a row in the sidebar. Click it to open its detail panel.

How to add a product

1. Click the category in the sidebar.
2. In the product list (right panel), click + Add product.
3. Fill in:
   • Name
   • Code (your internal SKU/code)
   • Description
   • Tags (comma-separated; used for search and filtering)
4. The product appears in the list.

How to add a hazard to a product

1. Open the product (click the row to expand its detail).
2. In the Hazards section, click + Add hazard.
3. Fill in:
   • Type (B / C / P / M / R / Q or custom)
   • Hazard description (e.g., Salmonella spp.)
   • Risk — click the matrix picker to select severity × probability.
4. Click Add hazard to save and close, or Add & continue to keep adding.

How to evaluate a hazard with the decision tree

1. After adding a hazard, click the Evaluate button.
2. The Decision Tree Wizard opens.
3. Answer each question (Yes / No / custom answers depending on the tree).
4. The tree concludes with a control type — PRP, CCP, PC, or PCP.
5. Pick the Standard items that justify the control (multi-select from your selected standards).
6. (Optional) Type a Justification.
7. (For processing-related hazards) Pick the Processing steps where the hazard is controlled.
8. (For PCP conclusions) Pick the PCP controls that apply.
9. Click Save.

The hazard now shows its control type as a coloured pill, with the standard items, justification, and steps inside.

How to use the Online Hazards browser

Instead of typing every hazard, you can pull them from the central hazard reference database.

1. On a product (or category, or group), click Online hazards.
2. The browser shows all hazards from the matching reference category, organized by hazard type.
3. Use search and the type filter to narrow down.
4. Tick the hazards you want.
5. Click Add selected.

Already-existing hazards are pre-ticked so you don’t add duplicates. See Online Hazards.

How to manage hazards at the category level

Setting hazards on the category itself lets you cascade them to every product underneath.

1. Open a category.
2. In the Category hazards panel, add or edit hazards as you would on a product.
3. When you save, you’re asked: “Apply to all products in this category?”
   • Override — replace any existing hazards of the same type on each product.
   • Add — add to existing hazards without overwriting.

This saves a lot of typing when products in a category share the same hazard profile.

How to use groups

Groups are optional sub-categories that share default hazards.

1. Inside a category, click + Add group.
2. Name the group.
3. Drag products into the group.
4. Add hazards on the group; they cascade to its products with the same override/add prompt as categories.

How to delete a category, group, or product

Hover or open the item, then click the trash icon. Deleting a category also deletes everything inside it. Confirm carefully.

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Screen reference

Sidebar (left)

Element	What it is
Category list	All your categories. Click to open.
+ Add category	Adds a blank category.
Search	Filters across all categories and products by name, code, or tags.

Detail panel (right)

Tab	Description
Products	The list of products in this category (or group).
Category hazards	Hazards defined at the category/group level.
Decision tree editor	Edit the in-plan copy of the active decision tree (advanced).

Product row

Column	Description
Name	Product name.
Code	Internal SKU.
Description	Free-form.
Tags	Searchable labels.
Actions	Edit / delete.

Hazard card

Element	Description
Type pill	B / C / P / M / R / Q (custom types coloured by config).
Hazard text	The hazard description.
Risk pill	Severity × probability score from the matrix.
Control type pills	PRP / CCP / PC / PCP — expandable to show standard items, justification, processing steps.
Evaluate	Opens the decision tree wizard.
Edit / delete	Pencil / trash icons.

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FAQs

What’s the difference between B, C, P, M, R, and Q?

• B — Biological (microbiological hazards: pathogens, parasites)
• C — Chemical (allergens, mycotoxins, residues, contaminants)
• P — Physical (foreign material like glass, wood, plastic)
• M — Metallic (a sub-type of physical, separated for clarity)
• R — Radiological (rare; e.g., gamma radiation in nuts)
• Q — Quality (non-safety quality issues, used by some standards)

You can also define custom types from the Setup wizard or via the active decision tree.

Why are some products greyed out? The product is in a group, and you’re viewing the category — open the group to see its products as enabled rows.

Can I copy a product to a different category? Drag and drop the row from one category to another in the sidebar. Hazards travel with it.

Why doesn’t a hazard appear in the Hazard Analysis (Incoming) table? A hazard only appears once it has a control type — i.e., it’s been evaluated through the decision tree. Hazards still in draft (without an evaluation) stay on the product but don’t show in the table.

What’s the difference between “Online hazards” and the local list? Online hazards come from the central reference database (managed by Datahex super admins). Once you add them to a product, they become local copies in your plan and are no longer linked to the reference. Updates to the reference don’t propagate retroactively.

Should I evaluate at the category level or the product level? Use category-level when products are very similar (cascade with override). Use product-level when each product has unique hazards. You can mix both — category-level handles common hazards, product-level adds specifics.