Some 34 companies within the US fresh produce supply chain have endorsed a new plan developed by the Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI) to move the country’s supply chain to a common standard for electronic produce traceability by the end of 2012.
According to a joint statement released by the PMA, the CPMA and United Fresh, the plan involves adopting a standardised system of case bar-coding for all produce sold in the US, to allow product to be tracked throughout the distribution chain.
The initiative is expected to maximise the effectiveness of the US produce industry’s current traceability procedures, improve internal efficiencies and assist public officials when they need to quickly trace back a product.
Intended to enhance overall supply chain traceability in speed and efficiency, a standardised system could significantly improve the industry’s ability to narrow the impact of potential recalls or similar problems.
The 34 companies endorsing the plan are members of the PTI’s supply chain-wide Steering Committee, including Wal-Mart, Safeway, Duda Farm Fresh Foods, Naturipe, Fresh Express and The Oppenheimer Group, among others.
“We’ve seen the need for supply chain-wide, electronic traceability across the industry so that we’re able to trace product more quickly and efficiently than we can now,” said PTI Steering Committee Chair and Food Lion, LLC chief operating officer Cathy Green.
Steering Committee member Tom Casas, vice-president of information technology and mechanisation at Tanimura & Antle, Salinas, California, noted that electronic traceability will offer new-found benefits to the produce supply chain, stressing that the increased cost should be viewed as an investment in the industry, and another step toward enhancing industry practices.
“This will help our industry and food safety regulators to narrow the impact of recalls, protecting both consumers and industry members who aren’t directly involved,” said Mr Casas.
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