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The Global Food Traceability Center

The Global Food Traceability Center (GFTC) conducts applied research; develops resources, tools, and training; and offers customizable services to help industry, regulators, and NGOs implement end-to-end, event-based, interoperable traceability to solve challenges and opportunities across the supply chain.

With the release of the rule on Requirements for Additional Traceability Records for Certain Foods (Food Traceability Rule), you may have questions about how to ensure your business and traceability system stand ready to meet the requirements. GFTC has expert resources to help you understand what you need to know and how to respond.

About IFT's Global Food Traceability Center

IFT’s Global Food Traceability Center (GFTC) and its partners work together to share knowledge, expertise, applied research, data, and resources to help address global food traceability challenges and opportunities across the supply chain.

Vision
A fully traceable food system enabled by interoperable digital solutions accessible to all.

Mission
Engaging food system stakeholders in their traceability journey through applied research, capacity building, advocacy, system design and implementation.
IFT has long been instrumental in modernizing food safety and traceability, convening food industry stakeholders and completing numerous task orders for the FDA, including a set of traceability pilots. It was through this process that industry partners recognized the unmet need to advance the science and practice of traceability. IFT responded by created the Global Food Traceability Center (GFTC) in 2013 to build critical traceability capacity across our food system.

GFTC has grown and evolved in response to the ever-changing regulator, industry, and ESG landscape. GFTC co-convened the Global Dialogue in Seafood Traceability to tackle illegal, unreported, unregulated fishing and publish the first interoperable, global seafood standard in 2020. In addition, GFTC has continued to work in the seafood sector by developing tools to advance economic justice for fishers and increase food safety in the product industry. GFTC continues to advance traceability science and practice in partnership with industry, government, philanthropic, and NGO partners.
GFTC serves a wide array of clientele to meet their regulatory, certification, sustainability, and food safety needs. Recent clients and partners include regulators, certifiers, industry associations, philanthropy, NGOs, individual businesses, and more.

Woman in a grocery store looking at product label.

What is Traceability?

Traceability is the ability to track a product through its supply chain including its creation, transformation(s), depletion, and locations.

Why Traceability?

Traceability has many use cases including food safety, fraud prevention, supply chain management efficiency, ESG initiatives.

How to Implement

Make your own traceability plan, get sector specific guidance, and more with GFTC’s tools, training, and customized services

Research and Resources

Access GFTC’s most recent research and publications. Learn key takeaways and best practices assembled from IFT’s numerous traceability pilots in supply chains ranging from leafy greens to seafood. Discover how the Institute for Food Technologists (IFT) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) developed the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST) standard for seafood and the latest in its implementation.

Explore Resources

Services

Does your organization need specific support? GFTC offers customizable offerings to enhance the traceability capacity of businesses, regulators, and NGOs. Whether you need to design a traceability system for your business, extend a standard and develop communication protocols for a sector, or educate a group with a workshop, training, or other speaking event; GFTC helps a wide range of clients advance in their traceability journeys.

Services

Tools and Training

Build your traceability knowledge with GFTC’s online courses and on-demand webcasts. Empower your business to tap into the many benefits of traceability with tools like GFTC’s calculator for understanding the ROI of implementation.

Team Training

Explore GFTC FSMA 204 Resources

With the release of the rule on Requirements for Additional Traceability Records for Certain Foods (Food Traceability Rule), you may have questions about how to ensure your business and traceability system stand ready to meet the requirements. GFTC has expert resources to help you understand what you need to know and how to respond.

GFTC FSMA 204 Resources