Food traceability best practice document released

The Global Food Traceability Center (GFTC) has issued a guidance document on food traceability best practices. Providing a comprehensive framework for six food industry sectors - bakery, dairy, meat and poultry, processed foods, produce and seafood - the document summarises the similarities and differences among them in regards to traceability.

“Our guidance document helps fill in one of the most significant gaps that regulators face when developing new policies: what is the industry currently capable of doing and how much can realistically be asked of them?” said Tejas Bhatt, program director of the GFTC and one of the lead authors.

“This document can facilitate more balanced, effective, science-based and cost-conscious policies and serve as a blueprint for what is practical for the food industry to improve food safety, save money and help protect the public.”

According to the guidance document, there are various points in a supply chain at which data capture is necessary. These points are referred to as critical tracking events (CTEs). At CTEs, it is necessary to collect and store key data elements (KDEs).

Critical tracking events include:

• Transportation events typically support external product tracing between supply-chain locations, resulting from the physical movement of product by air, truck, rail or ship from one supply-chain location to another supply-chain location.
• Transformation events support internal product tracing within the four walls of a company. Examples include when product ingredients from one or more suppliers or sources are combined, or when a product is further processed such as by cutting, cooking or repacking.
• Depletion events capture how product is removed from the supply chain, such as when a case of fresh produce is opened and placed in self-service bins at a retail grocery store, or a packaged product is sold at a retail grocery store, or when a case of product is used in preparing menu items at a restaurant.

The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) launched the GFTC in September 2013. The GFTC is a not-for-profit, collaborative public-private partnership.

Fifty-five experts from 11 countries were involved in developing the guidance document. To access the full document, click here.