In this blog we ask the question what is supply chain traceability, look at why is it important and dive into its role in providing safe, high-quality and consumer-ready products.

The importance of supply chain traceability for consumer safety and brand reputation has long been recognised in the food industry. A traceable supply chain gives food businesses the power to identify and track the inputs of a product, from the cultivation of raw materials to product manufacturing, packaging and distribution to sales outlets and consumers.  

This allows producers and retailers to ensure that products consistently meet quality, safety and sustainability standards and allows for efficient recalls when safety issues arise.  

Traceability is also the primary weapon in the battle against food fraud. As traceability processes enable the industry to verify that the authenticity of a product.  

Finally, as well as being a key part of safety standards and laws for the importing and exporting of products, supply chain traceability allows companies to realise efficiencies and reduce costs without compromising quality. This is possible as it allows companies to identify areas where wastage is occurring in the supply chain.  

Although there are many facets to supply chain traceability, this article focuses on its role in food safety.  

Benefits of supply chain traceability for food safety 

For regulatory bodies, retailers and manufacturers, the primary goal of supply chain traceability is for consumers to benefit from safe, uncontaminated food. Traceability also protects businesses within the supply chain by allowing them to identify products that may pose health risks and isolating them from production processes before they are released to markets. Finally, if food safety issues are only uncovered after processing, packaging, or distribution, it enables effective product recalls.  

However, it’s not just food ingredients that should be traceable. Packaging can also give rise to food safety concerns. For example, chemicals used in materials, adhesives or printing can migrate into packaged foods. Once again, consumer health and brand reputations are at stake, highlighting the need for packaging provenance information.  

Supply chain traceability challenges & solutions 

Challenges 

The sheer complexity of supply chains presents traceability challenges. Even a relatively simple supply chain from farm to consumer generally consists of at least five steps with intervening transportation and storage. Typically, a farmer’s produce will move to a processing centre, such as a packhouse or abattoir. From there, it is transported to a regional distribution centre before being transferred to retailers and then to the consumer.  

However, few supply chains are as simple as this. Additional brokerage, further processing and manufacturing intermediaries can intervene, increasing the number of times products change hands before reaching consumers. This implies additional potential for adulteration along its route to consumers. As previously noted, the packaging supply chain also forms part of the picture, adding to the complexity of supply chain traceability. 

Traceability blind spots can occur when companies fail to implement sophisticated technologies, relying instead on traditional record-keeping methods. This potentially opens the door to errors, oversights, delays, and data tampering, all of which will negatively impact the quality of the collected data.  

Other supply chain traceability challenges include variable data standards - especially when sourcing products internationally. For example, some countries may implement Global Standard 1 (GS1) standards, while others adhere to localised systems, and producers in developing countries may not be geared to adopt Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies. This can increase the time and cost required for data gathering and analysis. 

Solution 

Blockchain-style traceability systems provide a solution that covers all critical traceability events (CTEs) and key data elements (KDEs). Data is standardised and is rendered in a tamper-proof format, ensuring its reliability. This transforms a critical challenge into an easily navigable process with total supply chain transparency as an achievable goal.  

The same technology addresses variability in data standards, allowing for full integration and interoperability between supply chain entities. Although standards may differ from country to country, the data elements remain measurable and comparable. This allows businesses to select parameters and make informed supply chain decisions without undertaking lengthy and costly verification procedures.  

Examples of supply chain traceability for food safety 

Farm-to-fork traceability 

Traceability systems make it possible to trace food ingredients back to the farm, and even the specific field from which the produce originated. In the case of livestock, tracing is possible back to batches at farm/house level. Batch codes, QR codes, or RFID tags allow supply chain participants to track the entire route between a product’s origin and their businesses. After processing, they record where products go after leaving their hands. Retailers complete the traceability process, keeping records that include provenance and sales data.  

Food ingredient traceability 

Processed foods contain a variety of ingredients and, with full traceability, manufacturers can verify the origins and safety profile of each of these. This allows them to assess contamination risks, including allergen risk, across each ingredient that forms part of their finished products.  

Storage temperatures & conditions 

Up to 14% of food spoilage and loss occurs during transit and storage. Naturally, each storage and transportation step also carries a potential cross-contamination risk. Traceability systems allow businesses to access and evaluate detailed records including the conditions under which food is stored and transported. For example, they can access information indicating whether safe temperature ranges were adhered to or identify transport and storage-related allergen cross-contamination risks.  

Compliance documentation 

A strong traceability system ensures compliance with regulations that enhance food safety. This includes documentation that demonstrates adherence to food safety standards. Documentary evidence provides proof that due diligence has been exercised allowing buyers to have confidence in the products they purchase. Documents may include supplier certifications, compliance certificates and declarations, transportation records, hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) records and more.   

Recall management 

Despite efforts to ensure food safety and a reduced number of food safety-related recalls in the UK, Canada, and Australasia, 2023 product recalls in the US and EU rose. In the US, two significant listeria events were the most prominent cause of the rise in recalls, with allergen contamination representing the second most common reason for product recalls. In the EU, fruit, vegetables and poultry were the most frequently recalled products, possibly due to the fact that poultry is the single product type most associated with foodborne pathogens, closely followed by pre-prepared salads. 

Regardless of where you do business, or how diligently you work towards food safety, the potential for product recalls exists. Accurate traceability data helps to limit the negative consequences of product recalls and minimises the potential scope of their impact. 

If consumers have already purchased recalled products, traceability allows retailers to determine which outlets are affected and the volume of products they have sold. They can then alert the public in a timely manner. Meanwhile, supply chain traceability helps businesses to pinpoint the source of food safety issues, recover from recalls rapidly, and devise strategies to improve their food safety management practices. 

As part of its award-winning suite of supply chain management software solutions, Foods Connected offers blockchain-style food traceability software, so manufacturers and retailers can be confident in their ability to offer safe and authentic farm-to-form products. Request a demo of our software to find out more. 

New call-to-action