IFT Launches New Global Food Traceability Center

CHICAGOA new global food traceability center, designed to help protect and improve the global food supply was launched by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT)  at the 2013 IFT Food Expo. This is the first such attempt by a single entity to coordinate the activities of key stakeholders in the agri-food industry to provide timely product tracing solutions.   

Todays global food supply chain has become increasingly complex as companies seek greater efficiencies to feed the worlds growing population. Product tracing has emerged as a critical tool for increasing the transparency of the attributes and origin of food products from farm to processing to retail and food service, or to the family table.

When food-related problems occur, time is the enemy as health and lives are at stake, as well as the livelihoods of industries, companies and employees. This initiative will assist companies to better trace the paths of products through the supply chain to improve food safety, mitigate risk and avoid devastating health consequences and economic impacts to the food system.

The Global Food Traceability Center will serve as an authoritative, scientific, and unbiased source for food traceability. We will create a focal point where industry, academic institutions, government, foundations and consumer groups can discuss, collaborate, conduct research, adopt best practices and implement practical and actionable traceability solutions for the food system," said IFT Executive Vice President Barbara Byrd Keenan.

IFT has been partnering with regulatory agencies, academia and industry to conduct research, education and outreach in food science since 1999. IFT has been a visible leader in food traceability since 2008. In June 2012, IFT concluded two food product tracing pilots for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as mandated by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

The formation of the Center is the result of three Traceability Research Summits IFT held in 2011. These summits were a part of the Traceability Improvement Initiative (TII) launched by IFT with seed funding support from BASF Chemical Company, Underwriters Laboratories, and National Fisheries Institute. Founding sponsors for the Global Food Traceability Center include Cargill Inc., Food Marketing Institute, GS1 US, International Association for Food Protection, Intertek Group, Lyngsoe Systems, Mars Inc., National Fisheries Institute, Produce Marketing Association, Wal-Mart and the University of Guelph.

Product or ingredient traceability protects public health by allowing health officials to quickly and accurately pinpoint the source of any contaminated or suspect foods and ingredients. The need for such an initiative was vividly illustrated by the horse meat scandal that swept several European countries, and  the product recalls which occur monthly that can cause illness or worse, such as the hepatitis A outbreak linked to frozen berries sold at Costco in June.