FDA/IFT Traceability Report Released

CHICAGOFDA released a new report on product traceability in food systems and recommendations for improvement conducted by The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT).

The study found all participating food companies realize the importance of an effective, rapid and precise product-tracing system for their supply chain. Currently most companies have record systems, but the level of sophistication may depend on company size. Companies covered by the Bioterrorism Act of 2002, which requires them to keep records on immediate sources and subsequent recipients for their products, consider their companies to be in full compliance.

Significant variability in product tracing practices exists. However, the report found common issues that complicate product tracing, including types of data collected, how the data are captured, and data sharing within the facility and among trading partners.

Enhancing food traceability will have a significant economic cost to the industry, but the report also lists associated benefits such as improved supply-chain management, inventory control, and access to contracts and markets, plus more-targeted, lower-cost recalls. Better traceability could also result in protecting brand name, maintaining consumer confidence, and reducing potential liability claims.

The report concludes that setting clear objectives for those in the food supply chain is critical, and that the system should be simple, user friendly, globally accepted, and incorporate existing industry systems. The report will be published in the January 2010 issue of Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety (Vol. 9, Issue 1).