How does food traceability work?
Food traceability relies heavily on technology and accurate and detailed recording of products. Common methods are:
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Barcodes and RFID tags to track products: They give visibility to the movement of products, contribute to food safety by tracking production and expiry dates, and are a mandatory element to comply with food safety standards.
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Adoption of databases to store traceability information, such as reception guides, date of preparation of the products, expiry date, batch, quantity in kilos, date of reception and name of the supplier. They should include information on the origin of the products, their processing and transport, as well as any other data relevant to traceability.
Benefits of food traceability
Food traceability has several benefits, such as:
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Ensuring food safety, by enabling the rapid identification of dangerous products, food-related illnesses can be prevented.
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Reduce health risks, as companies can quickly identify and resolve any food safety issues, ensuring food safety and thus reducing the risk of contamination.
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If a dangerous or contaminated product is detected, it can be better managed as food traceability allows producers and retailers to withdraw it from the market more quickly and efficiently.
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Improves supply chain transparency: food traceability allows end-customers to know the history of what they consume, increasing confidence in those products and in the food industry in general.
Examples of successful food traceability programmes
There are many successful examples of food traceability around the world, from governmental systems to private initiatives. The European Union, for example, is considered a leader in food traceability as it is mandatory for all products and has a homogenous system.
Countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Brazil have a system of identification and traceability of domestically produced livestock, but still lack more concise requirements and standards for other produced and imported foodstuffs. They need to develop and apply more concise requirements to other food they produce and to the food they import.
How can we become a benchmark in traceability? It is key to have traceability from the place where a food is produced (supplier) until it reaches the end customer's table.
Many suppliers and retailers are already implementing clear, easily accessible and understandable food traceability systems to improve efficiency, reduce costs and ensure product quality and safety.
Challenges and limitations of food traceability
One of the biggest challenges is the lack of uniform standards and regulations, little access to internal systems that provide reliable and quick responses to traceability data, and lack of analysis in relevant decision-making formats.
Although strategies and technological models to improve traceability exist today, they are still insufficient due to their high cost (directly affecting small and medium-sized enterprises) and problems in facilitating data integration. But we should not be discouraged, as work is underway on systems that support strategic decision making.
The future of food traceability
The future of food traceability looks bright, with technological breakthroughs promising to improve efficiency and reduce costs, such as AI, Big Data and Blockchain technology. The latter has the potential to revolutionise food traceability by enabling transparency throughout the supply chain.
Work is also underway on technologies for automatic identification and detection, along with the availability of new computational and simulation models. Among other solutions to ensure greater control.
As a Loads customer, you will have access to a platform where you will be able to track all the food you are importing, but we will also guide you so that your shopping experience is comprehensive.
