Instant Access to Information on Ingredients and Processes

By Bernice Hurst, Managing Director, Fine Food Network

To label or not to label, that is the question. And if you label, what goes on it, where does the information come from and, most importantly, how do you ensure that it's transparent?

A business based in Northern Ireland, TraceAssured, thinks it has the answers. After four years of development work, the company's online traceability initiative was launched in mid-January.

Designed to enable food processors to see which country every ingredient has come from and each process a product goes through in the factory, Food and Drink Europe reports that the program is set to significantly overhaul food chain traceability. The company's chairman, Dr. Ken Baird, explained to Food and Drink Europe that "it uses a novel approach as it traces containers instead of batches. Each container has a barcode, which can in the future be replaced by a RFID chip." Dr. Baird claims that information on the entire food chain, from farm to fork, is available within minutes, compared with hours or days required in current traceability systems.

Providing visual representations of when and where each process takes place, the intention is to reestablish consumer confidence. Dr. Baird also explained that the system offers "vital management information as it can monitor yields, throughputs and inventory." Details of ingredient and packaging movements, transformation and quality from source to shelf mean that if problems occur, they can be traced immediately without having to halt production to investigate.

Having been tested in poultry processing factories, agreements have now been reached with Hewlett Packard and Scanvaegt International, part of the Marel Food Systems Group. Funding, according to Food and Drink Europe, came from major food businesses in Europe, the government body Invest Northern Ireland, private investors, retailers and standard certification bodies.

Discussion questions: Can an online traceability system solve all the costing and political issues about labeling in one fell swoop? What are the pros and cons of such a program?

• Internet traceability system launched for food processors - Food and Drink Europe