Navigating traceability
Traceability is a key aspect of food and beverage manufacturing today. Consumers want to know everything about what they are consuming, and farm to fork is the new norm. We explored how a transparent value chain helps win over customers in our earlier Transparency Track series. So, what does traceability entail for food and beverage manufactures? And why is it a crucial element in manufacturing, today?
A historical perspective
“One step forward, one step back” is the minimum traceability requirement for any food business as per the EU’s General Food Law, effective 2002, that recognized traceability as a core principle. As per this regulation, every food business must be able to identify the businesses to which their products have been supplied and to trace food chain inputs back to the immediate supplier. Today, more than 20 years later, traceability encompasses much more.
A traceable trail
Traceability, or product traceability, in manufacturing involves tracking and tracing every stage of the process, from sourcing and production to distribution and consumption. In food and beverage manufacturing, it applies to any material, feed, food-producing animal, and substance that goes into a product. In a traceable value chain, the entire lifecycle of a food and beverage product and its ingredients are accounted for.
The workings
Traceability is about generating, organizing, and utilizing data at every touchpoint, and in practice is classified into internal traceability and supply chain traceability. For starters, internal traceability refers to tracking the manufacturing process from raw materials to finished goods within the company or the factory. Supply chain traceability has a much bigger realm and follows the journey of a product across the supply chain, requiring every component to be uniquely identified and the information shared with stakeholders.
The value
Traceability delivers value on multiple fronts: from safeguarding quality and driving efficiency to ensuring food safety and promoting sustainability. Although implementing traceability can be an effort-and-time-intensive task, the advantages of supply chain visibility outweigh the challenges, so much so that 70% of companies are focusing on improving supply chain visibility.
As food and beverage manufacturing continues to grow with global supply chains, a traceable value chain becomes essential. Throughout the series, we will delve into different aspects of traceability, starting with different types of traceability in our next post. Follow along for a deep dive into the world of traceable value chain. Subscribe to our exclusive bi-weekly newsletter and never miss another story.
- June 22, 2023