April 28, 2006

Each year food and food ingredients to the value of approximately 450 billion USD are traded around the world. As well as providing a source of jobs, wealth and greater food choice, this increasingly complex movement and processing of food ingredients and finished products presents tremendous challenges to all those responsible for food safety.

The ability to track food ingredients is essential to both ensure adequate safety and quality standards are maintained and to respond quickly and efficiently if something goes awry. 

Modern technologies are being incorporated to cope with the increasing complexity, and of course such innovations cost substantial amounts of money. However in those cases where traceability is applied to enhance, rather than impede food trade, the benefits extend beyond basic support to existing standards; modern technologies which track this complex movement of goods can actually drive improvements in safety and quality standards forwards and upwards.

This is good news for Asia:  consumers can enjoy direct benefits from the application of global food safety standards applied in their own local community and Asia-based food businesses can protect and expand their own market share with internationally recognized evidence of their ability to meet the required standards in safety and quality.   

Sign of the Times

With better consumer awareness and more sophisticated consumer expectations, comes a range of concerns that all those responsible for food including regulators, food producers, manufacturers, retailers and indeed the end-consumer has to address. Chief among them are concerns about microbial or chemical contamination of food products. Consequently, there is an ongoing stimulus for new innovations to protect the quality and integrity of food products, as well as the integrity and safety of the entire food supply chain from farm-to-fork.

Where and Why Traceability?                                      

Track and trace capability across the food value chain can be very useful tools. For example, to be able to quickly identify sources and/or destinations of contaminations or faulty ingredients enables rapid and organized response, maximizing consumer protection and minimizing the inevitable costs incurred. Traceability offers the opportunity to add value to the food chain, and thus justify the inevitable costs incurred. Traceability however would be a burdensome, additional cost if applied indiscriminately: For example, countries in Asia such as the Philippines have rejected suggestions that traceability should be used to specifically track food ingredients derived from biotechnology crops. This is because the distinction between crops tested and approved for cultivation by the government, using traditional plant breeding techniques or more modern methods such as biotechnology is only in the method of production or process, rather than safety or composition of the final crop harvested. Only in those instances where the plant breeding process (be it biotechnology or traditional) has been used to change the composition of the final food product (such as higher content of vitamin or mineral) might traceability be a justifiable additional cost.

Aside from the most basic level of ensuring a product is safe and free of contaminants, an efficient and effective traceability system can also help monitor and maintain food quality, and in some cases improve on it.

Who is Taking the Lead?

Within domestic markets, companies are finding that a comprehensive traceability system has the potential to add value to food products, at the same time protecting the law-abiding processors and producers against unlawful competitors that do not adhere to food safety and/or processing standards. 

Additionally, with so much of Asia's food industry being export focused, traceability systems offer a mechanism for Asia's exporters to respond to the demands of important export markets and maintain or expand their market share. Indeed, a recent European Union (EU) directive requires all fresh agricultural produce imported into the EU to have full traceability capability, and the US has recently introduced a similar requirement for a wide range of fresh and processed food products.

Adopting such standards and related proof/accreditation systems also benefits Asian nations by contributing to the development of a stable and reliable domestic food supply chain which can be monitored and governed with greater ease and accuracy. According to David Dayhoff, manager of supply chain solutions for Cargill, the biggest handler of food ingredients in the world, the benefits are even more far reaching. "Aside from the obvious food safety benefits, behind the scenes, better traceability can also lead to better product quality and more consumer choice. The information generated by traceability systems can be used by food and feed manufacturers to benchmark their ingredient performance and adjust their recipes to highlight certain traits for new premium products or to make the quality more consistent".

These trends are an interesting example of how commercial realities can be a driving force in improving overall food safety standards, both locally and globally, in both short term, but perhaps even more so for the long term.

In Summary

Asian food and food ingredients are popular not only in the region, but across the world. Any step towards promoting better food safety standards has the potential to provide a major boost for exporters looking to garner a bigger slice of the global food markets. For consumers in Asia, increased diligence and traceability can only be of benefit, enhancing both safety and quality assurance.  

What is Traceability

Traceability systems provide a mechanism for tracking the flow of food or food ingredient products through its production process, and along the food supply chain.

This is achieved by recording and retaining the information at each stage of the production cycle using a variety of tools, but by ensuring their integration and compatibility rapid retrieval of the information is possible if/ when the need arises. 

Physical Identification Systems

Common physical identification systems that are used to track food product and ingredients include the use of bar coding and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). These systems employ unique identification tags that are printed or attached to the product packaging which enable each product batch to be differentiated. In some instances, these unique identifications are used within the supply chain to communicate the composition of various ingredients and their processing history. Such information can then be updated and passed along the supply chain and finally to retailers to ensure proper compliance of food safety standards, and also a safeguard for the consumers with the ability to quickly and efficiently identify and isolate contaminated products.

Computerized Systems           

Information Technology (IT) plays a central role in food production systems, including trace back systems. A typical computerized tracking system offers a common 'language' for businesses along the supply chain to capture essential product information and history. Computerized trace back systems provide an integrated information exchange platform that can be used across the supply chain, enabling information to be retrieved at any stage before or after the product has entered the marketplace. In addition many systems are also designed to be flexible, and take into account the highly varied documentation and quality standard requirements of multiple national food safety agencies, enabling one central system to be adapted to many export markets.