Food traceability is the capacity to track every ingredient in a food product from its suppliers and producers to its assembly and delivery to the end-user.
In the food industry, there’s a large emphasis on traceability. With it comes many benefits, but also some drawbacks when things go wrong because of these efforts to be completely transparent with everything that goes into our products, which can lead not only to solving more problems than before (which is good) but an increased recall scope as well.
Tracing your products’ origins is an important step in ensuring they are safe for consumption. If you don’t have the right systems in place, then it becomes difficult to track what happens after a product leaves one of our facilities, which means that any contaminated goods could go unnoticed and end up on store shelves or restaurant menus where people eat them.
No doubt, there are a lot of issues that come with food traceability, but its importance can’t be reduced.
Why is Food Traceability Important?
The need for food traceability is becoming more significant than ever before.
Food Traceability Will Become a Requirement for the Food Industry:
Digital food traceability is becoming an industry need. One cause is the growing emphasis on food safety and preventing food-borne illnesses. Currently, FDA laws compel those in the food sector to track and document one step ahead (food movement) of the food’s immediate previous source.
The FDA is taking a new approach to food safety by leveraging technology and implementing standards for traceability. This will create an easier way of ensuring the quality, purity, and location of where each product originates. To keep up with all these changes while still maintaining our commitment to consumers’ safety, we need better tools that can help us track what they put on their plates!
Manufacturers Benefit from Traceability by Responding Quickly to Recalls:
When you least expect it, your business can be thrown into chaos with the announcement of a recall. This will likely harm revenue as well as how long-term damage is repaired with a brand reputation in mind-if at all possible!
With a digital system that provides traceability, you can take action immediately when there’s an issue with the product. The ability to associate ingredients with finished products and provide instant information about their location will allow for more efficient management of recalled items as well as let customers know what they should do in case these issues arise again, saving both time and money!
Also Read: Key Components of Food Safety Compliance
All Manufacturers Can Implement Traceability:
Food manufacturing is a process that requires careful tracking and monitoring of products. The use of barcode labelling and scanning can help you keep track of your inventory in real-time with access to information about every ingredient used from start until finish, which eliminates any worries or concerns about what could’ve happened along the way if something went wrong during storage/ transportation, etc… This makes sure nothing goes missing, hence increasing safety for all involved parties, including consumers who become more informed when purchasing their groceries!
Important Functions of the Food Traceability Software
The necessity for software solutions to track food and beverage production and quality is becoming increasingly important for businesses. However, this advantage is no longer reserved just for big enterprises, but every producer must comply with strict industry standards.
The following are the important functions the software should have:
- Accurately managed inventory
- Bill of materials/recipes
- Manufacturing management
- Food cost capturing
- Serial number tracking
- The mobile shop floor app
- E-commerce integration
- Label design and printing
- Customizable software interface
- Details on Inventory Tracking
FAQs
Why is traceability important in the supply chain and specifically in food safety?
Food traceability is an important step in ensuring that your products are safe for consumption. If you don’t have the right systems in place, then it becomes difficult to track what happens after a product leaves one of our facilities which means any contaminated goods could go unnoticed and end up on store shelves or restaurant menus where people eat them – no doubt about it!
What are the benefits of food traceability?
The advantages of traceability systems are frequently contingent on the firm in question. However, the following are the general advantages of traceability systems for businesses:
- Improve the quality
- Increase product recalls.
- Enhance inventory tracking
- Enhance food safety
- Enhance customer service
- Consumer demand must be met.
- Check the harvest date and location.
