Trustwell Blog

How Food Traceability Software Helps You Meet FSMA Standards

Written by Katie McBeth | Jan 17, 2023 8:00:00 AM

With evolving (and stricter) regulations and guidelines for food quality and safety – particularly under the FDA’s Food Safety and Modernization Act (FSMA) – food companies need to be prepared with the right tools and processes to maintain product integrity and retain consumer trust. From supply chain visibility to supplier management to record-keeping, there are a number of factors to consider when it comes to navigating food compliance and meeting FSMA standards. As the FDA takes a more digitized approach to the collection, management, and sharing of data, the right software solution can help your organization stay ahead of the game.


Food traceability software, like Trustwell's FoodLogiQ Traceability, leverages industry-recognized best practices, rooted in GS1 standards, to enable true farm-to-fork traceability, batch-lot level visualization, data-driven transparency, and more. As the consumer-driven demand for product transparency continues to dominate the industry – in addition to the FDA-driven requirement for tech-enabled traceability and enhanced recordkeeping – companies can look to food traceability software to enhance current processes, coordinate cross-functional collaboration, and ensure food safety and quality. Having efficient, effective systems in place is key to ensuring FSMA compliance and keeping consumers safe.

Below, we outline four benefits of using food traceability software to help your company meet FSMA standards:

Farm-to-Fork Traceability

When a product is compromised or contaminated, every minute counts. With FoodLogiQ Traceability, your business will have true farm-to-fork traceability – from grower to supplier, to the distribution center, to the retailer or restaurant. You’ll have access to trace a product both forward and backward, identifying its exact point along the supply chain and having quick access to that data in order to take efficient and swift action when faced with a food product recall or outbreak.

Batch-Lot Level Visualization

With the final guidance for traceability under FSMA 204, the ability to stitch together the digitized Key Data Elements (KDEs) and Critical Tracking Events (CTEs) of your products’ movement across the supply chain is crucial for comprehensive visibility and transparency. FoodLogiQ Traceability provides visualization at the batch-lot level so that businesses can immediately issue an investigation, notify all parties, and record documentation—all in one spot, almost instantaneously—saving precious time and reducing the risk of contaminated items reaching consumers.

Data-Driven Transparency

For any business, the ability to make data-backed decisions is critical, but for food companies that must act swiftly at any given notice, having access to accurate, real-time data is even more invaluable. FoodLogiQ Traceability provides your team with access to real-time data in a centralized platform, making required FDA reporting and record-keeping a more seamless and efficient process. This also enables your business to market authentically to key stakeholders and consumers with real-time data on food origin, journey, and composition.

Action-Oriented Investigations

While companies can take action to prepare for food safety or quality issues, a potential recall or outbreak is inevitable. As such, teams need to be prepared and ready to act quickly and efficiently to find the root cause of the problem and keep consumers safe. With FoodLogiQ Traceability, food safety teams can launch investigations to identify, track, and trace the contaminated product forward and backward and launch a withdrawal. The solution also makes it easy to provide evidence of these records to the FDA when necessary and ensure ongoing compliance moving forward.

Trustwell is Here to Help

Consumer demand, recall frequency, and regulatory requirements have all contributed to the need for greater visibility and comprehensive supply chain transparency. For companies looking for a solution to help ensure they are meeting FSMA standards and achieving compliance – both now and for years to come – our team of experts at Trustwell can help.