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The reliable traceability of products and activities in the supply chain has recently emerged as a new aspect in agribusiness. Consumers in various areas of the globe are increasingly demanding verifiable evidence of traceability as a critical criterion of food quality control. Food traceability and safety are now at the centre of global government and industry debates.
What is food traceability?
Traceability is the ability to track the flow of food through certain phases of production, processing, and supply. The traceability tool should identify where the food came from and where it went at any food chain level (from production to distribution), relevant to the food inspection and certification system’s objectives.
Benefits of food traceability for food processors
It is critical in assisting businesses in remaining competitive in both the domestic and global markets. The capacity to trace a product from a farm through processing, distribution, transportation, and retail to the endpoint, or customer, is becoming standard business practice for all parties engaged in today’s food supply chain.
Traceability standards, however, can be a barrier to trade for small-scale farmers in developing nations. Let us have a glance at the significance of including a food traceability solution for the food processors.
Transparency to consumers
Traceability is a method for satisfying buyers’ and end users’ expectations and guaranteeing that growers meet their needs. Consumers demand to know what happens to food goods at every stage of their journey.
They are getting more worried about food safety. Some aspects of the public are increasingly interested in how food is produced, such as whether it is organic or uses minimum chemicals. Here comes the role of traceability solution wherein the supply chain is transparent to the consumers.
Effortless tracking
Adopting traceability is an unavoidable need. It is an issue of achieving this in the best way possible while still leveraging the best possibilities to track the crop/food. You can identify and recall a specific segment of contaminated goods, protect consumer health, and help you save money by not remembering the whole lot.
Hassle-free customer service
In the event of a foodborne disease epidemic or a consumer complaint, you will be able to identify what goods are on the market, when they were sold, and recall them if required. A functional traceability system is beneficial to the food processors since it may resolve consumer complaints and concerns regarding the product supplied. An effective traceability system is helpful for food processors to resolve consumer grievances and problems regarding the product delivered.
Easy monitoring
Food Traceability develops a method to monitor what you took to market (where it came from and when harvested). It keeps note of what you put out for sale and how much you sell each day if you have an on-farm market.
Decreases food loss
It lets you keep track of the food movement, which helps to keep your inventory moving and decreases loss.
Increases customer trust
While food safety is the most apparent advantage of establishing traceability at every stage of the process, it is far from the only one. To the end customer, it means being confident in the quality of the food on their plate. Still, food traceability is even more valuable to the brand itself.
Enhances supplier accountability
A food traceability system provides brands with comprehensive visibility and control over their goods across the supply chain. If an issue arises, the brand may track it back through the product’s history and pinpoint the specific flaw, responding appropriately before it is too late.
The following are the primary goals pursued to comply with food traceability.
It gives precise consumer information. It ensures the product’s quality (it works as a quality control system). It evaluates and confirms the removal of food from the market.
Options for Traceability Systems
Traceability solutions range from paper to electronic; select the one that works best for you. Growers may brand all containers in a specific lot with simple technologies such as grocery store labelling guns. Markers and self-adhesive mailing labels are also acceptable options. Electronic traceability solutions are also available for purchase, although they are not necessary. Bar code technology is frequently used in electronic devices. While the need for traceability increases, industrial choices may expand and turn out to be more inexpensive, making bar codes a feasible option for small farms.
Farmsio’s Food Traceability Solution
Farmsio Traceability is a built-in capability in the software that records farmer & farm profiles and farming practices. Our solution generates a unique ID to identify the source (farmer) of the farm produce and link it with all the data in the value chain, like certifications, farming practices, procurement, logistics, inventory, and warehouse. The GPS technology captures all the points in the value chain. Traceability solution is linked to farmers’ accounts and financial systems and can be adopted on the blockchain.
It has unique Tracking Bag IDs, Truck IDs, Warehouse IDs for farmer produce. With Farmsio Food Traceability solution, scanning QR code of each transfer displays information which consists of Farmer name, Farm name, Farm location, Crop name, Crop quantity, Crop Quality, Procurement ID, Procurement Location, Field Officer name, Transfer date, Truck no, Driver Name.
Farmsio Food Traceability solution allows the organizations operating at any step of the food chain to
• Trace the flow of materials backward and forward.
• Find necessary documents and tracking for each stage of production.
• Ensure sufficient coordination between the various stakeholders in the value chain.
• Improve communication among the involved parties.
• Improve the fair use and reliability of data, efficacy, and productivity of the organization.
Summing Up
Farmsio farm-to-home traceability is a solution for ensuring food safety, gaining consumer trust, and promoting farmers’ livelihoods and sustainable agriculture practices. Farmsio has internal and external traceability solutions, which can be visualized in a map. Farmsio assists the food industry and processors, government, and agribusinesses in designing a strategic end-to-end traceability program, overseeing a traceability program, and technical integration assistance.
If you would like to see Traceability Solutions in practice in your industry, click here to contact us for a demo.