Tracking the movement and origin of products makes it possible to locate defective or dangerous food or other hazardous products currently in circulation. Their rapid withdrawal from the market can save lives. It also reduces potential financial losses and helps maintain consumer trust in their favorite brands.
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. Regulations also impose an obligation on entities to withdraw food products that do not meet 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, recall it.
Logistics operators and transport companies, which constitute one of the links in the chain, are also responsible for the high quality of food on the market. A crisis situation resulting from the delivery of products harmful to human health to the market may have its direct cause in improper storage or transport of products by the aforementioned companies.
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 companies in the implementation of traceability. 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.
– The solution developed within the TRACEBACK project (EU 6th Framework Programme) is also based on GS1 standards. Two supply chains were analyzed: tomato and dairy. However, the proposed solution can be implemented in other chains – adds Tomasz Dowgielewicz, project coordinator from the Institute of Logistics and Warehousing.
Of course, the above concepts do not fully guarantee food safety. However, their absence means that a company is not prepared for safe production or distribution of goods. In the event of a crisis, it may encounter great difficulties in efficiently obtaining accurate and error-free information about the origin and location of defective goods. By failing to issue instructions for their return or withdrawal, it causes the threat to consumers to persist.