There has been a lot in the news regarding food scares lately. I was talking to a colleague this week who will no longer feed his daughter peanut butter because she became ill after eating some at her elementary school. Luckily, she's OK . . . but it is definitely more important than ever to be able to determine the source of food for quick "issue" resolution.
In a recent newsletter from the SupplyChainBrain,the author speaks to this problem:
The unending headlines about contamination in our food supply has made food safety a major concern. Also consumers want to know how fresh is the food; where was it grown? Is it really organic? Food traceability is key to reliably answering these and other questions about our food supply. Food traceability involves recording the movements, hand-offs and processing that occurs as food ingredients travel all the way from “farm to fork.”
Food traceability will most certainly continue to be at the forefront of both consumer and regulatory concern. Those food producers that we consult with are all about figuring out how to more effectively trace their food as it travels from their fields to the consumer. As the newsletter points out, there are three good reasons for this:
• Safety—Traceability can help assure the quality and safety of the food supply, provide rapid precise recalls, and pinpoint underlying causes of contamination.
• Brand Enhancement—A freshness guarantee is possible when temperature and humidity are recorded, from harvest to final sale. Some consumers will pay a premium for products that demonstrate social responsibility traits or health benefits (e.g., organic) requiring traceability.
• Supply Chain Efficiencies—Once traceability is in place, companies have precise, detailed historical data about timing, handling, condition, and flow of goods. This can be analyzed to identify weaknesses (e.g., excess dwell times, lack of FIFO disciplines, incorrect storage, etc.) to improve processes and reduce spoilage.
Once again, improving your business processes can help all areas of your business. The net net is that if you are keeping consumers happy and doing it more efficiently, the return on dollars spent on technology improvements are very quickly realized. In addition, you certainly don't want to be the company who ends up in front of Congress having to explain (or not) what happened with your peanuts.