The requirement to track the movement and origin of food in the supply chain is not new, yet food sector companies (especially in primary production) do not always manage to meet it. Often, in a situation where a specific batch of products must be withdrawn from the market because it has been found to have negative health quality and is therefore dangerous to consumers, companies have trouble determining exactly what needs to be withdrawn and how to reach the source of the problem.
Previous issues of “Logistyka” have written many times about traceability. As a reminder, this term means the ability to track the flow of products and loads in supply chains and networks, along with the registration of parameters identifying them and the locations where this flow took place. For the food industry, including the meat and charcuterie industry, traceability is mandatory due to legal regulations (for example, EU Commission Regulation 178/2002, which specifically defines the principles of the new Food Law).
Traceability does not mean that every partner in the chain must store and publish all information about tracked products. However, the entity that is the source of information about a tracked unit, as well as its recipient, must communicate and store identifying information in their systems (at least one common level of the tracked unit). In this way, it is possible to ensure the proper flow of information in backward-to-forward tracking relationships.
Taking into account legal requirements, as well as market demands, every company operating in the food and feed industry, as well as those dealing with products that come into contact with food, should analyze their own operations and, among those responsible for various areas, ask themselves the following questions: Are our products safe? Do we correctly identify the products supplied to us and those we send? Do we correctly identify our trading partners? Is the batch/production series marking correctly linked to product information? The above issues and answers to questions regarding the traceability system can be found in the GS1 document updated last year: “Traceability for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables. Implementation Guide”.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 3/2011.