Harmony in the food chain
Business Forum in France - to publish a guide to implementing
traceability in the food supply chain. By 2005 all food companies
in the European Union must have a traceability system in place,
writes Anthony Fletcher.
The CIES traceability task force, made up of representatives from EAN International and from CIES member companies such as Carrefour, Coca-Cola HBC, Kraft Foods International and Spar Austria, developed the guidelines in order to help senior management of food companies better understand traceability.
They are designed to assist food businesses in implementing traceability systems, by highlighting the pitfalls when developing such a system and, above all, how to ensure that systems can be aligned along the food supply chain.
The guide focuses on food, rather than product safety in general.
"The purpose of this document is not to provide a technical manual for implementing traceability, but rather a short overview of the various aspects that have an influence on or are influenced by traceability. It is therefore complementary to other existing traceability documents," said Hugo Byrnes, director of food safety programmes at CIES.
The guide, called "Implementing Traceability in the Food Supply Chain", can be downloaded from http://www.ciesnet.com/.
Traceability will also be one of the key topics at the upcoming CIES conference "Tag, Trace & Synchronise - The Retail Experience in Data Synchronisation, Traceability and RFID," which will take place in Paris on 7 and 8 October 2004.
Similar requirements are also planned for food companies in the US.
