Traceability systems needed to increase trust in food safety
A new study from Canada’s Conference Board says one step forward and one step backward in the supply chain is a simple, robust and cost-effective method of traceability.
The number of recalls in Canada, the US and the rest of the world point to the need for a robust system of traceability to protect the safety and quality of the food supply. In a new publication for its Centre for Food in Canada, The Conference Board of Canada recommends that all players in the food supply chain be able to trace where they got a product or ingredient, and where they sent or sold that product or a product containing that ingredient. In other words, each producer or processor in the food supply chain needs to be able to accurately trace its products or ingredients one step forward and one step backward in the supply chain, according to the publication, Forging Stronger Links: Traceability and the Canadian Food Supply Chain.
“Food traceability is a vital part of the food risk management system: it underpins Canadians’ trust in food safety, quality and healthiness,” says Alison Howard, principal research associate. “The ability to trace a product’s journey from point of sale back to its origin is a vital part of today’s risk management system.”