As we reflect back on the last ten years, we have made significant growth in food traceability. There have been huge advancements in technology and traceability standards, as well as regulations driven by the Food Safety Modernization Act.
We've put together the State of Food Traceability E-Book, featuring quotes and perspectives from industry thought leaders, to explore how far we have come, what is driving adoption and the future vision for food traceability.
Enhanced traceability has been driven forward in light of the changing regulatory landscape with the introduction of the Food Safety Modernization Act, the most sweeping reform of food safety laws in more than 70 years. The FDA now has a legislative mandate to require comprehensive, prevention-based controls across the food supply chain.
Food companies are facing unprecedented pressure to provide supply chain transparency not only to comply with FSMA and other regulations but to earn customer trust and loyalty.
With enhanced traceability technology, ingredients can be traced back to their point of origin in moments. This feature is especially important if there is a situation in which quality is compromised. Advanced tools make it possible to initiate an investigation, notify suppliers, and locate related product immediately - which means better response times and reduced risk.
Several elements were raised as key to a successful track and trace effort.
While “one-up-one-back” has been the go-to traceability method for many food companies, whole-chain, end-to-end traceability offers ideal safety and transparency—in line with the direction the food industry is fast-tracking towards. The value of seeing the entire past and future of each product is that companies can easily verify the safety practices of their suppliers, the origin and authenticity of the ingredients, as well as be aware of potential allergens.
“In the future, there will be a comprehensive link of every ingredient to each product and its food safety status (e.g., temperature during transportation, shelf-life, warehouse location) in real-time throughout the supply chain, including where product is currently at and data analytics to alert when any of this is out of compliance,” says Hal King PhD, President, Public Health Innovations, LLC.
Many are asking, "What should my organization do to get blockchain ready?" In short, a modernized supply chain with standardized data built on GS1 Standards is imperative in preparation for becoming blockchain ready. At FoodLogiQ, we assist organizations in their quest to modernize their supply chain in preparation for blockchain and vow to integrate our end-to-end traceability solutions with the blockchain of their choice.
"The future is bright for food traceability. As industry adoption continues to grow, so will the significant benefits realized across the industry. The growth in traceability is paramount to FoodLogiQ achieving its mission of mapping the world's food chain, making it as safe as possible and empowering people with the information they crave about the food they eat," says Dean Wiltse, CEO, FoodLogiQ.
Download the E-Book and learn: