Pilot Projects for Improving Product Tracing along the Food Supply System

Abstract

In September 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asked the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) to execute product tracing pilot projects as described in Section 204 of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). IFT collaborated with representatives from more than 100 organizations-including the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, state departments of agriculture and public health, industry, and consumer groups, as well as not-for-profit organizations-to implement the pilots. The objectives of the pilot projects were 1) to identify and gather information on methods to improve product tracing of foods in the supply chain and 2) to explore and evaluate methods to rapidly and effectively identify the recipient of food to prevent or mitigate a foodborne illness outbreak and to address credible threats of serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals as a result of such food being adulterated or misbranded. IFT conducted evaluations to determine the impact of currently available technologies, types of data and formats, and the data acquisition process, as well as the use of technology on the ability to follow product movement through the supply chain. Results from the pilots found inconsistencies in the terminology, numbering systems, formatting, legibility, and occasionally the language that sometimes required IFT to contact the submitting firm to gain clarity, thus increasing the time required to capture data before any meaningful analysis could begin. However, the pilot participants appeared to have many of the tools and processes in place which are required to allow the capture and communication of critical track and trace information (such as, key data elements) at critical points of product transfer and transformation (such as, critical tracking events). IFT determined that costs associated with implementing a product tracing system can vary widely as determined by numerous factors: the size of the firm/facility, the method of product tracing already in use (manual or electronic), and the range of each firm's capabilities to implement or improve its product tracing system, to name a few. IFT found that there are several areas (such as uniformity and standardization, improved recordkeeping, enhanced planning and preparedness, better coordination and communication, and the use of technology) in which industry improvements and enhancements to FDA's processes would enable tracebacks and traceforwards to occur more rapidly. IFT developed 10 recommendations for FDA to consider for improving the state of system-wide food product tracing. The recommendations outlined in the report will enable FDA to conduct more rapid and effective investigations during foodborne illness outbreaks and other product tracing investigations, thus significantly enhancing protection of public health.

A Framework for Developing Social Networks Enabling Systems to Enhance the Transparency and Visibility of Cross-border Food Supply Chains

“…Over the past years, international organizations, academic societies, cross-border industrial associations and governments have started to work together to launch various food safety initiatives, develop numerous standards, and pilot cross-border traceability platforms to improve the transparency of global food supply chains [1], [4] , [19] , [24] , [32] , [34] , [35] , [55] , [67] , [81] , [89] , [92]. For example, Global GAP standards, initiated by European farmers and retailers for international certification of Good Agricultural Practice and facilitating global trading, are now in the process of harmonizing similar agricultural worldwide standards (e.g.…”

A Guidance Document on the Best Practices in Food Traceability

“…Only a handful of organizations have evaluated traceability approaches that could be applicable across the entire food industry. The 2012 pilots conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) proposed such a framework, using the concept of Critical Tracking Events (CTEs) and Key Data Elements (KDEs) (Bhatt and others ). However, since the focus of these pilots was on 2 specific food‐product categories (fresh tomatoes and processed foods), the applicability of the CTE/KDE framework to other food sectors has remained undetermined.…”

New techniques and methods for cold chain monitoring and tracking in perishable products

“…In September 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asked the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) to execute product tracing pilot projects (Bhatt et al, 2013c) and to address how to meet the growing requirement for agriculture and food traceability (Bhatt et al, 2013a).…”

“…The objectives of the pilot projects were 1) to identify and gather information on methods to improve product tracing of foods in the supply chain and 2) to explore and evaluate methods to rapidly and effectively identify the recipient of food to prevent or mitigate a foodborne illness outbreak and to address credible threats of serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals (Bhatt et al, 2013c).…”

“…IFT developed some recommendations to allow rapid effective investigations during foodborne illness outbreaks which lead to enhance protection of public health (Bhatt et al, 2013c).…”