DAVID MILLER

Product traceability has always been a contentious issue in the food and beverage industry, often pitting manufacturers, packagers, and distributors against retailers, customers, and government agencies. However, recent supply chain wide “meltdowns” have all sides of the issue beginning to agree on the need for better controls. No less important than the need for traceability is the availability of cost-effective and practical solutions. Fortunately, new technologies and techniques are changing …

A simple cup of soup with about 40 basic ingredients illustrates the complexities of the supply chain, which may entail over 500 different companies from all over the world.

Recall events cover three aspects: (1) notifying who you sent the product to, when, etc., (2) isolating any impacted product on hand, and (3) updating relevant suppliers.


The best traceability systems offer “from any point to every point” traceability, moving from vendor through to customer delivery and back—and every stage in between.

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