Food Supply Traceability
By Becky Partida on Nov 26, 2012
Posted in Supply Chain Management
Serious food recalls, such as the recall of salmonella-tainted cantaloupes in the United States last summer, often make the news and are alarming for consumers. Yet not every food recall receives news coverage, and this was the inspiration for the U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) that was signed into law in early 2011. This law requires organizations in food supply chains to be able to trace food items to their origins. Although rules enforcing this law have yet to be released by the Food and Drug Administration, DC Velocity notes that organizations are getting a head start on establishing the “farm-to-fork traceability” envisioned within the FSMA.
One way in which grocers and food distributors are establishing visibility into product origins is through the use of radio-frequency identification (RFID) tagging. RFID tagging can lead to faster investigations into the sources of contaminated food. Implementing tracking strategies such as RFID can also lead to benefits beyond traceability and visibility. As DC Velocity’s article notes, organizations that are adopting technology solutions to comply with the FSMA have also seen improved efficiency, greater inventory accuracy, and lower supply chain costs.
APQC has content with in-depth discussions of the benefits of RFID tagging as well as information organizations can use to determine the type of RFID tagging to use:
Article found at: https://www.apqc.org/blog/food-supply-traceability
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