Trace Register, a provider of full-chain traceability and data management services for the seafood industry, and ReposiTrak, a food traceability and regulatory compliance network, are working together to advance FSMA 204 compliance for retailers, wholesalers and seafood suppliers.

The FDA’s FSMA 204 food traceability law requires additional traceability recordkeeping for foods on the Food Traceability List (FTL), which includes varieties of fresh, frozen and previously frozen finfish, smoked finfish, crustaceans and molluscan shellfish.

The fast, easy exchange of FDA-required Key Data Elements (KDEs) is now possible between seafood suppliers and the retailers and wholesalers they serve.

“Throughout our conversations, we came to understand the complementary aspects of our data sets and data exchange capabilities,” says Trace Register President Heath England. “Trace Register is already collecting the FDA-required KDEs from seafood suppliers. Now, through interoperability with ReposiTrak, that specific data set can be sent to their retailer and wholesaler customers without the need to log in to one more portal or system.”

Since 2005, seafood suppliers have been sharing traceability data through Trace Register for regulatory, food safety and sustainability purposes. During that same time, ReposiTrak has built a network of 30,000 companies (including more than 1,000 seafood suppliers) sharing regulatory, financial and compliance documentation, as well as traceability data to meet the requirements of the FDA’s FSMA 204 food traceability law.

“FSMA 204 compliance is possible without the need for new work – or rework – in our already taxed supply chains,” says ReposiTrak Chairman and CEO Randy Fields. “The ReposiTrak Traceability Network translates and organizes the data in the same way for seafood as it does for other FSMA 204 categories like produce and deli, providing the retailer or wholesaler with the same trusted transparency across the board.”