Page 53 - FoodFocusThailand No.166 January 2020

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STORAGE, HANDLING & LOGISTICSANDLING & LOGISTICS

Traditional traceability products are not only alive but thriving.
That’s in part to industrywide efforts to convert old paper dependent
traceability programs to searchable digital versions. Because of that
push, non-blockchain, digital traceability products are competing
effectively.

Associations Push for Modernization Many in the
industry have sought a way to improve produce tracebacks for a while
now. The old paper version of traceability is unwieldy, especially when
public health is in danger.
“Traceability is necessary for the sake of public health (along with
better business benefits), and we support PTI [Produce Traceability
Initiative] because it uses globally-recognized standards allowing for
interoperability throughout the supply chain,” says United Fresh’s Dr.
Jennifer McEntire, Vice President of Safety.
“Everybody’s focused on improving the whole process of food
safety,” says Wester Growers’ Senior Vice President Hank Giclas.“If
you look at the recommendations that came out of last year’s romaine
task force, they revolve around the PTI program. And we’d like to see
that reinvigorated, not only at the grower-shipper level, but more Global Trade Item Numbers for each product. In the event of a recall,
broadly accepted and adopted at the buyer-distributor level.” we can use a photo of the PTI label to trace the product back to the field
The PTI, a collaboration between several industry associations, of origin as well as identify where other cases from the same block may
aims to converts the entire industry to electronic traceability. have been distributed.”
“Our program is a broader, more comprehensive marriage of
existing technologies, refining traceability down to the item level, a Why Not Adopt a Universal System Like Blockchain?
specific bunch or bag or clamshell, as opposed to a case or pallet,” One argument in favor of adopting blockchain industrywide is that one
Giclas says. “We’re all about integrating what’s already on the ground system will simplify things and make trace-backs a snap. But that ignores
to allow us to rapidly trace both forward and backward.” a few key points. What each supplier offers doesn’t always fit with what
Western Growers, also representing the supply side of the chain different parts of the industry needs.
in Arizona and California, recently launched its own Supply Chain “One universal system everyone could subscribe to sounds like a
Risk Management Solution program to go beyond traditional paper- good idea, but we like the flexibility for members to use alternate methods
based food tracking efforts. of data tracking,” says Dr. Hilary Thesmar, Food Safety Program
Coordinator, Food Marketing Institute (FMI).
Newer Programs Must Connect the Entire Supply So FMI doesn’t endorse any one traceability platform.
Chain The key to these programs’ effectiveness? Industrywide “As long as there is accurate information concerning traceability that
adoption. can be shared with the supply chain, that’s our focus,” Thesmar says.
“If it’s going to work, it has to go through the entire distribution “Technology is advancing quickly. We’ve made a huge shift from
chain, so there’s a lot of work still to be done,” says California Leafy paper to electronic data systems in the last decade with additional
Greens Marketing Agreement CEO Scott Horsfall. “I wish it was as advances expected. Who knows what the innovations will be in terms
easy as everyone flipping a switch and using the system in unison, of making it even easier to capture information in the future? Tracking
but that’s still being worked out.” produce will be even faster and easier in the future using systems that
His leafy greens counterpart in Arizona, Teressa Lopez, says most have not yet been conceptualized,” Thesmar says.
growers already embrace that mission. “We need to remember that produce safety isn’t just an action — it’s
“The largest breakdown of traceability is that last mile — an attitude reflecting our core beliefs,” says Cathy Burns, CEO of the
distribution and retail,” she says. “Growers and shippers are labeling Produce Marketing Association.
product and United Fresh and the Produce Marketing Association are
working diligently on FDA-allowed providence labeling to identify the How Do Traditional Traceability and Blockchain
specific city or county of origin, leaving it up to retail to scan those Differ? Blockchain and traditional traceability products have the same
labels and make sure every single package has accountability.” goal: increase data availability of foods progress through supply chain.
McEntire doesn’t feel there is one universal program, a one-size- The primary difference comes from blockchain’s ability to decentralize
fits-all solution, to solve the problem. data housing and rely on encryption for data verification and assurance,
“Looking holistically, we need to maintain a visible and readily- the Institute of Food Technologists says.
navigated relationship with chain partners that allows for choice and Blockchain differs in another way. All partners have a copy of the
flexibility. We need whole-chain traceability, the ability to track and shared ledger. That’s likely a major factor in retailers like Walmart
trace both internally within a company and externally via a data demanding its suppliers adopt it.
exchange between trading partners,” she says. Modern traceability products digitize all paperwork related to the
Ocean Mist Farms, the largest domestic grower of artichokes, as product, from harvest data to import inspections to arriving at a grocery
well as a full line of fresh vegetables year-round, also is a PTI store dock. Its not as centralized as blockchain, but it still offers a speedy
proponent. way to trace each step produce takes through the supply chain.
“While we had a traceability program allowing us to trace each
carton to the block and field of origin, it made the most sense to
migrate toward a product-tracking platform in use across other arms
of the supply chain,” says Chris Drew, Vice President of Operations.
“Utilizing our previous format of assigning block codes made the เอกสารอ้างอิง/Reference
switch more palatable by starting evenly across all commodities with www.growingproduce.com/vegetables/how-the-produce-industry-is-moderniz-
ing-traceability/
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