Manage a Traceability System

Traceability is the ability to trace and follow a food product or any substance intended to be, or expected to be incorporated into, a food product through all stages of production, packing, processing, handling and distribution. Traceability refers to the completeness of the information about every step in a process chain. Traceability is one of the most important cornerstones of food safety implementation. In this chapter, we will briefly revise certain concepts and checklists that were discussed in detail at previous levels, before looking at how traceability is implemented in the pre-harvest production environment along with the recordkeeping systems that are essential for traceability.

The Purpose of Traceability

Consumer protection is an essential aspect of the agricultural production environment. Traceability allows the grower to provide proof of the origin of all fresh produce and therefore presents a measure of protection for the grower and the consumer. For grain production, traceability is problematic because it gets mixed but less critical because it is normally cooked and not consumed in a fresh form like fruit. It is critical that all employees in the supply chain understand the importance of food safety and its related traceability.

Traceability serves the following purposes:

Security – It is a legal requirement that any defective product that presents a risk to the consumer must be able to be recalled immediately. Traceability allows this by ensuring that the origins of the product can be determined.

Investigation – If a product is found to be defective, at least two things have gone wrong. Firstly, the product itself was not produced, handled or packed in the prescribed manner, and secondly, the product may already have passed through quality control points where the defect should have been detected. Traceability allows for the necessary investigation to determine where these deviations occurred.

Production management – Traceability can lead to a greater understanding of the company's capabilities, making it possible to meet production targets in a shorter time and at a lower cost. Traceability can also be a starting point for the statistical methods of process control (SPC).

The stimulus for technical progress – There is always a risk that a production unit that is profitable and that is meeting its objectives may become complacent. Implementing traceability systems forces management to assess the use of technology within the organisation and the skills levels of the employees.

Consumer information – Traceability allows the producer to collect information about consumers and their spending habits, which allows him to better define and understand his target market.

Click here to view a video that explains food traceability.