Studies show that consumer confidence in the safety of the U.S. food supply is waning. That is understandable given the recent rash of contamination-related problems. From traces of salmonella found in peanut butter and jalepeno peppers to the Chinese milk fiasco, the public is more concerned than ever about food and produce safety issues. In fact, a recent study released by Burson-Marsteller and Penn Schoen & Berland found that 93% of U.S. consumers are aware of food and produce contamination problems. The study further reveals that nearly a fourth of the public plan to change their long-term food and produce purchasing decisions.
With consumer confidence in food safety battered, it is imperative that every company in the supply chain adhere to universal food and produce traceability standards. The Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI) has launched a sweeping program to bring all supply chain firms into compliance with GS1 tracking and tracing protocols. Over time, as PTI’s improved traceback program help supply chain operators isolate root sources of contamination, consumer confidence will rise.
Potential Threats To The U.S. Food Supply
Consumers often believe that food safety issues are related exclusively to bacteria and other natural contaminants. In reality, there are several potential threats and each represents a risk to public health and safety. For example, national security experts have been concerned for years that extremist groups might act by intentionally contaminating the U.S. food supply. On the other hand, a resentful employee of a supply chain company can introduce harmful toxins and pathogens into a food product at a processing, storage, or distribution center.
While it is impossible to completely remove the possibility of these events occurring, PTI’s GS1 tracking and produce traceability standards seek to control and limit their impact. By requiring supply chain operators to obtain GS1 prefixes and affix 14-digit GTIN numbers to fresh produce products, the tainted food lots can quickly be traced back to the root source of contamination. That prevents threats to the U.S. food and produce supply from spiraling out of control, impacting public health and safety and costing billions of dollars in losses, due to a product category recall.
GS1 Tracking And Produce Traceability
Because the fresh produce industry handles billions of cases of produce each year, the exposure to contaminants – natural or otherwise – is substantial. The risk of tainted food lots will always exist in the supply chain. However, as each operator within the supply chain brings their respective internal record keeping and traceability systems into compliance with industrywide GS1 tracking standards, a new level of accountability emerges. Each industry member, from growers to distribution companies, will be part of a standardized traceability system.
The biggest challenge for many supply chain companies is meeting the PTI’s compliance deadlines.
How eProduce’s Food Tracking Software Eases The Transition Toward Compliance
The Produce Traceability Initiative has established a series of deadlines by which all industry members should comply. By the end of March, 2009, brand owners must acquire GS1 prefixes, assign product codes to all brand name products using the GS1 prefix in preparation to tag each trade unit of fresh produce with a 14-digit GTIN number, which displays the lot number of the produce by the end of third quarter 2010. eProduce, a robust, web-based food tracking, business process management application, already supports the PTI’s seven milestones as outlined in PTI’s ‘Action Plan’ for tracking and tracing of fresh produce. By using eProduce, brand owners can quickly bring their own traceability systems into compliance with industrywide GS1 standards.
By 2012, wide-scale adoption of a universal electronic traceability system will lower costs for brand owners while improving consumer confidence. As the food and fresh produce industry race to meet the PTI’s traceability requirements and deadlines, supply chain companies will find eProduce to be a cost-effective solution for the transition.
