Introduction:
In households, ensuring food safety has become a paramount concern. People are very much concerned about what they eat for various reasons, including environmental sustainability and recent disease outbreaks in animals that could potentially affect humans, such as avian flu. So, many individuals now seek chemical free food options. However, with the complexity of modern food supply chains, identifying unsafe products, whether they pose risks to the environment or to human health, has become a tough task for consumers.
The solution to this challenge lies in traceability, which offers a modern approach to addressing food safety concerns. But what exactly is traceability?
TRACEABILITY:
In simple terms, traceability refers to the ability to track and trace the movement of food products throughout the entire supply chain, from production and processing to distribution and retail. It is like having a roadmap that shows you where a product has been and how it comes to you. This system gives you insights into the different stages and operations involved in manufacturing and supplying the product to end consumers. It involves tracing the activities involved in manufacturing, processing, distributing, and handling the feed and food, from the very beginning of production to the moment it reaches consumers. It is like taking a step back to see where your food or feed ingredients came from, especially if there are issues or faults with the products. Traceability helps ensure food safety and quality by allowing us to identify and address any problems.
Why traceability is important in Agriculture?
Food safety has emerged as a paramount concern globally, driven by the scandals that concern consumers daily. With retailers assuring customers of disease-free products, the reality is most of the time be different, potentially risking consumer health. This major issue has heightened public worry regarding the safety of the food they consume.
The trading landscape has gone into significant transformations, driven by the expansion of the global network. Therefore, the structure of supply chains has changed with the sector growth and development happening worldwide majorly in the food industry. Â This evolution has led to increased complexity within supply chains. As the number of stakeholders involved in the supply chain increases, so does the complexity, making it more challenging to trace the origins of food products and form their compliance with consumer expectations.
Furthermore, the perishable nature of agricultural goods further emphasizes the question of quality and safety assurance throughout the production and distribution processes. The urgency to guarantee the truth of food products and their delivery to end consumers has become more essential to any supplier than just a mere want. This imperative stems from the inherent vulnerability of perishable goods to spoilage and contamination, underscoring the critical importance of robust quality control measures and transparent supply chain practices.
In this dynamic landscape, safeguarding food safety is not merely a regulatory thing but also a moral need. It necessitates efforts from all stakeholders involved in the food supply chain, from producers to retailers, to hold the highest standards of safety and integrity. By prioritizing transparency, accountability, and adherence to stringent quality control protocols, the industry can build up consumer confidence and mitigate the risks associated with foodborne diseases and contamination incidents which negatively affect the people with that their trust in the supply chain of the products.
What are the benefits of traceability?
- Enhanced Monitoring: The implementation of traceability systems allows businesses to monitor information in real-time, which helps in better tracking of products throughout the supply chain.
- Informed Decision Making: Real time data provided by traceability systems enables businesses to make more informed decisions, leading to longterm value creation and strategic planning.
- Increased Customer Trust: Products with traceability systems build trust in customers as they can track the origin of their food, aligning with their values and beliefs, thus enhancing brand reputation.
- Resource Optimization: Correct implementation of traceability systems helps businesses utilize resources more effectively and efficiently, leading to reduced product losses, lower inventory levels, and improved resource allocation.
- Supply Chain Optimization: Traceability systems streamline the supply chain process, reducing delays and improving efficiency, ultimately contributing to business growth and enhancing customer satisfaction.
- Branding: If the products provide all the information that is needed by customers it helps in improving the brand equity, and enhances the customer confidence in the brand.
The identification of the products for the need of traceability may include the following different steps which are:
Internal traceability within an enterprise refers to the establishment of processes that connect the identities of raw materials to those of the finished goods. As materials are combined, processed, or repacked each resulting product must be assigned its own Unique Product Identifier, like the Aadhar number, along with a batch or lot number. These identifiers serve to distinguish each product uniquely. These traceable numbers must be communicated to distribution channel participants through product labels and electronic business documents. This ensures that stakeholders have access to the necessary information to track back the origin and journey of each product. By implementing robust internal traceability measures, enterprises can enhance transparency, improve quality control, and facilitate efficient recall processes when necessary. This not only builds trust among consumers but also mitigates risks associated with product safety and compliance.
What the Stakeholder Needs?
In the world of food businesses, keeping track of what you are receiving and where it’s coming from is crucial. For example, imagine going to a grocery store and not knowing where the apples or chicken came from, it just wouldn’t fly. So, food businesses need to be careful when it comes to this stuff.
When food arrives at a business, they need to know who sent it and where it has been. This means having information like the name and address of the company that made or packed the food. And if it’s imported, they need to know who brought it into the country. And additionally, they have know what the food is called. It sounds obvious, but sometimes this is also skipped.
Food recall: If something is not right with the food maybe it’s gone bad or got something which is not eatable in it, the business needs to be able to recall it fast.
The recall plan should have all the details: like who the business is, records of what was made and when, including things like product codes, where it was packaged, and even down to the time it was made. They also need to know how much was made or supplied
So, in a nutshell, food businesses need to be super organized. They gotta know what’s coming in the door and where it’s been, and have a solid plan in place in case things go south. It’s all about keeping customers safe and making sure they can trust the food they’re buying.
Tools used in Tracing the food
Traceability initiatives in supply chain management heavily rely on technology to ensure efficient and accurate tracking and tracing of products throughout their journey. This encompasses various technological components, including those for product identification, data capture, analysis, storage, transmission and systems integration. Hardware components such as measuring and sensing equipment, identification tags, and labels are parts of these systems, along with software solutions.
Data collection methods play a crucial role in traceability, with tools like barcodes and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) offering exceptional accuracy, often exceeding 99%. These tools easily scan and record essential information such as product codes, lot numbers, invoice data, order numbers, and other relevant details in a fraction of a second. This rapid and accurate data collection ensures seamless monitoring and tracing of products across the supply chain, enhancing transparency, efficiency, and overall operational effectiveness.
CONCLUSION:
In many developed countries, there are very strict rules about traceability, meaning the ability to track food products from their source to the consumer. This is mainly because of the concerns about food safety, especially after incidents like bird flu or mad cow disease. Having a traceability system also ensures that the food is genuine and provides accurate information to customers.
But in developing countries, setting up good traceability systems can be tough. They often lack the information and infrastructure needed, and they see it as expensive. Smaller businesses in these countries usually just sell locally, where traceability rules are less strict. But eventually, even local markets will demand better traceability, aligning with global standards, and it is also becoming the need of the hour.
Rules about traceability aren’t going away, so it’s smart for businesses in developing countries to start setting up traceability systems now for their better customer support on their products.