It seems that the more we know about our foods and processes, the more we need to know. We dig for data, mine it as if it were gold. But with our wealth of information has come the obligation to use it well.Both the Bioterrorism Act in the U.S. and the General Law of 2005 in the European Union have pushed food processors into record-keeping requirements that will have far-reaching impact on the safety and quality of the food supply. Both laws are commanding processors to create flawless systems to track and trace their products. Mad cow disease, fears of bioterrorism and proof of genetic identity are just three of the headline issues that have made traceability - the ability to track a product and all its components accurately through their entire history - a top-of-mind concern for every processor. Although avoiding human tragedy is the primary goal, averting corporate tragedy is not far behind. Processors are well aware that the cost of a recall is huge and far-reaching and the damage to the brand and corporate image could take years to repair. The more we can, the more we mustAutomation and computer systems have lighted the way to service, safety and qualitative capabilities that previous generations of food processors barely detected on their radar.Instantaneous awareness of a product's history is at our fingertips. The systems and technologies to capture, integrate and interpret the necessary data are already in our hands. And if profit lured processors who invested in early generations of tracking technologies, the clamor for safe food could make their usage universal.Consider these worldwide developments:
- Global concern over the spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), aka mad cow disease, prompted the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to encourage science-based safeguards, including animal identification by means of ear tags and electronic systems, to prevent spread of the disease.
- In December 2003, FDA set deadlines for virtually all links in the food and beverage supply chain to comply with the Bioterrorism Act. It also added 500 new inspectors to begin enforcement. Among the regulations is a "maintenance of records" requirement. It states companies must maintain tracking records for ingredients and products. The records help track products found to be adulterated.
- Canada's Agriculture Policy Framework (APF) announced a goal of 80 percent traceability for Canadian food by 2008.
- Article 18 of the European Union's Regulation 178/2002 requires guaranteed traceability of food and feed at all stages of production and that tracing information be available to authorities on demand.
Nutreco on track to traceability As if the General Food Law of 2005 and EU identity preservation requirements were not enough, European retailers are applying pressure on pressures to prove traceability. "We get lots of requests for audits from retailers and others," reports Kees Bink of Nutreco Inc., the Netherlands-based processor of salmon, poultry and animal feed. "They want to see how we do things. In the old days, we dove into piles of paper. But today we can trace products almost instantly." Their tool today is NuTrace, a software product with refined tracing capability that Nutreco developed with Intentia (www.intentia.com), an international industrial software manufacturer, in late 2000. "The new traceability requirements in Europe and the States today require that you be able to trace any material in your product - where it came from and where it goes," explains Alf Reime, global accounts director for Intentia. "But this information doesn't reside inside the ERP system alone. It is also in the production system, within information from suppliers, in quality and lab inspection. You need to combine information from several systems." Incorporating the standard Intentia Trace Engine, NuTrace has been customized to Nutreco operations and systems. Intentia claims that it was the first tracking and tracing system released in Europe. "Many say they have traceability, but when you dig into it, you find that there's information missing," says Reime. "You always have a sender and a receiver of information. When I have produced Batch A and sent it to Truck X, you need a system that follows and records that handoff. The chain of events must not be broken. Very few systems have that security." Nutreco's suppliers also have benefited from NuTrace. "Along with Intentia, we have spun off a product geared to farmers, to help them improve their production, too," says Bink. "So we are using our system as an optimization tool in our value chain." "Lots of people focus on internal traceability," says Reime. "The really big difference is that we work across the supply chain." The system has proven to be an effective marketing tool as well by providing assurance of product traceability to retail customers. "Nutreco is a responsible feed and food producer," says Bink. "We don't just talk. We can show that we have full control of the value column." |
NOTE TO THE WHOLE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT TEAM Traceability falls on manufacturing because manufacturing is the stage in which elements are mixed, shaped and enhanced to bring forth the product that defines the operation. Plus, each of the elements that converge to make a product during the manufacturing stage carries a history. But a tracing system, perhaps more than any other part of the food manufacturing process, really does require a multifunctional and collaborative effort that includes R&D, information technology, purchasing and management.
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