Traceability Food safety and a whole lot more

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Traceability Food safety and a whole lot more!

• David Sparling
• University of Guelph
• The Team Approach to Food Safety
• Guelph September 22, 2005

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Organization

• Traceability
• What is it and what do you need?
• Is it more than food safety?
• What are the benefits?
• What does it cost?
• Building a business case
• Can benefits really outweigh the costs?
• Whats the future for traceability?

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What is it?

• Traceability the ability to trace the history,
  applications, or location of that which is under
  consideration (ISO)
• Objectives
• Allows you to find a product, to know where it
  has been and where it is now
• To support product claims re safety, quality and
  specific attributes

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Traceability is a Tool

• Traceability is just one part of a quality
  production management system
• Objective is to support cost, quality and safety
  goals
• Defining those goals helps define
• Traceability system requirements
• the information that must be captured and
  transmitted along the chain

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What do you need?

• Information Management Capabilities
• Capture data and organize it
• Product testing/audit
• Data transmission/communication
• Plan to use and act on the data

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Aspects of Traceability Data

• Where and how do you collect it?
• Breadth scope of data saved?
• Depth how far through the supply chain must
  data be tracked?
• Precision how accurate must it be at exactly
  identifying a products location, processes or
  some other attribute?
• Unit, case or pallet?

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What do you need?- Technology

• It depends on what you are trying to do?
• Paper
• Computer
• Automated data input bar code, RFID
• Communication technologies

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Why isnt the industry adopting it?

• Negative Industry Attitudes
• Traceability viewed as a cost
• It is just another requirement imposed on the
  agri-food sector
• It is only about dealing with recalls or cases
  like BSE traceback

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Traceability is more than Food Safety

• Shift sector focus from cost to value
• Demonstrate that traceability working together
  can benefit all stakeholders
• Build a business case for traceability

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How Can Traceability Help Your Business?

• Comply with regulations
• Deal with problems recall/liability
• Meet customer requirements
• Major retailers ie. Wal-Mart
• Provide buyers and consumers with more
  information credence attributes
• GMO free markets/Organic
• Improve your supply chain operations

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Traceability Value- Meeting Regulatory Standards

• If you want to stay in the market you have no
  choice
• Contributes to the cost perception
• One reason but how else can you benefit?

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Traceability Value Market Opportunities

• Different markets demand different attributes
• Organics
• Non-genetically modified crops for E.U. and Asia
• Premium products - beef, specialty grains
• New biotechnology products
• Market entry requirement ability to prove that
  the product has desired attributes
• Traceability helps provide that proof

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Traceability and Claims

• Traceability ensures consumers that they get the
  product they want
• Three credence claims

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Traceability Value Risk Reduction

• Most familiar application of traceability
• Objectives
• Reduce probability of food safety problems
• Reduce time to identify compromised products
• Reduce the size of the recall by correcting
  identifying only the products affected
• Helps in assigning liability for problems

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Recall Scope

• The amount of product recalled to capture
  potential problem product
• Can-Trace Pilot projects studied potential
  recall impact of traceability
• Produce sector number of stores affected by a
  recall reduced to 1/6 of current
• Meat Processing reductions of up to 90

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Traceability Value Improved Efficiency

• Main objective of firms in other sectors
• Traceability can provide knowledge and control of
  value chain processes
• Use that information to improve processes to
  decrease costs and improve quality
• Reduce inventory out of date
• Increase process efficiency
• Technology - Computers, scanners, bar codes and
  RFID and supporting software

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Traceability Costs
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Traceability Benefits /Costs - Dairy Processing
Survey (2004)
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Costs and Benefits of Traceability Implementation
Compared to Expectations
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Perceptions before and after

• Motivation for implementing
• Reduce risk of a product problem/recall
• Reduce impact of a product recall
• Reduce product liability
• Meet current regulatory requirements
• Perceived benefits after implementing
• Company perception by customers/regulators
• Ability to meet customer regulatory
  requirements
• Perception by consumers

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The Surprise

• It takes so much of our staff time!!!
• Staff issues - dominated costs and challenges
  during implementation and on-going operations
• Other challenges related to supplier and customer
  acceptance

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The Future of Traceability

• It will become part of daily business
• It wont simply deal with food safety recalls
• It will get cheaper and better
• We will get better at using the information
• That knowledge will provide advantages to those
  who use it well

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Thank You