Among the products available on the market for every consumer, food goods are of particular importance, often accounting for more than 50% of the average shopping basket. Due to the huge number of recipients of food products, as well as the direct contact of these products with the human body, it is particularly important to ensure the safety of goods produced, distributed, and sold in the food industry sector.
Events that have taken place over the last few years concerning the food and nutrition industry, such as the crisis caused by BSE, bird flu, dioxins, or pesticide poisoning, have caused an increase in interest among producers, as well as governments of many countries, in the problem of product safety. Ensuring the safety of products delivered to the market involves recording and collecting data about them at every stage of the food supply chain, and thus at the level of each of the enterprises participating in this chain. Particular attention was paid to this problem when establishing new food law regulations. These requirements naturally forced companies in the food and nutrition industry to track the movement and origin of products, i.e., to apply specific rules and procedures that allow for recording necessary information about products.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” No. 1/2005.