In recent days, reports of further food scandals have been appearing in the Polish media. First, about the introduction of industrial salt used for the production of food products (including meat, cold cuts, and bread) into the market. Then, about counterfeit egg powder, which contained harmful ingredients and had been reaching Polish companies involved in confectionery and other sectors for years.
In light of these events, we must ask the questions: Will companies that have to withdraw goods from the market do so effectively? Will companies producing food using industrial salt and harmful egg powder be able to clear the market of products dangerous to health as quickly as possible?
The Institute of Logistics and Warehousing – the Polish GS1 organization, supports enterprises in the scope of tracking and emergency withdrawal of goods from the market.
On January 1, 2005, Regulation 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council came into force, which regulates the obligation to monitor the movement and origin of food and feed by all food operators.
All participants in the supply chain – suppliers, producers, distributors, retail chains, and stores – are responsible for monitoring the origin of food. The essence of traceability is the ability to monitor a given product (production batch) at every stage of the supply chain, i.e., the ability to obtain data from the previous stage of the chain (from whom and what was received) and simultaneously provide information to the next stage (to whom and what was sent).
The regulations impose an obligation on entities to withdraw food products that do not comply with safety requirements and to notify the relevant authorities of this fact. In the event that a product may have already reached the consumer, the entity is obliged to inform them and, if necessary, collect it.
Tracking the movement and origin of products enables the localization of defective or dangerous food or other dangerous products in circulation. Their quick withdrawal from the market can save lives. It also reduces potential financial losses and allows for maintaining consumer trust in their favorite brands.
To implement processes for tracking the movement and origin of products in supply chains, all partners should use goods flow identification systems. The Institute of Logistics and Warehousing – the Polish GS1 organization, supports enterprises in the scope of implementing traceability and emergency withdrawal of goods from the market (RECALL).
The best solution is to use a system based on automatic identification, adapted to the needs of a given enterprise. Identification data related to products, as well as entities that are trading partners, should be collected and exchanged based on GS1 standards.
Currently, there is no tool on the market supporting Polish enterprises in the scope of emergency withdrawal of goods from the market in relation to the entire supply chain. The Institute of Logistics and Warehousing, the national GS1 Poland organization, is currently working together with some companies in Poland on the implementation of just such an online tool, with the working name of the Recall platform.
The system includes a communication platform between enterprises enabling the exchange of information about withdrawn products in a fast, accurate, and secure manner. The mechanism is as follows: e.g., a producer sends a notification to a retail chain via the Recall platform. Each withdrawal notification has its individual GS1 number: GDTI. Within predefined functions, the response time (i.e., the time for the retail chain to respond) and the persons responsible for sending the message and its receipt are determined. The platform enables the automatic sending of a withdrawal notification to many recipients simultaneously. Through the platform, it is also possible to track the status of a product’s withdrawal from the market online.