Food Traceability

The Necessity of Food Traceability

In August 2010, Wright County Egg in Galt, Iowa, announced a nationwide recall of shell eggs. Another recall was deemed necessary later that month, and then a third was sent out in November from Ohio Fresh Eggs of Croton, Ohio – this time for nearly 290,000 eggs. By the end of this slew of Salmonella, more than 500 million eggs had been recalled, accompanied by nearly 2,000 known instances of illness caused by Salmonella. In this string of contaminations, Iowa had distributed eggs to foodservice companies, grocery distribution centers, and retail grocery stores in 14 states. More than 90 percent of the cartons from Ohio bore the U.S. Department of Agriculture's grade mark for quality. Since neither the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) nor the egg company notified the Agricultural Marketing Service of the contamination, officials had to learn about the recall by checking the FDA website themselves.1

Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that foodborne illnesses are responsible for 48 million illnesses, 128,000 hospitalizations, and 3,000 deaths in the U.S. each year.2 Even with advances in food-tracing technology, it can still take as long as a week to issue public warnings for dangerous recalls – as was the case in Sudan I's recall of cancerous food dyes.3 To protect consumers from contaminated food, a safe and traceable digital system is a necessity.

The New Era of Smarter Food Safety

In 2019, the FDA held a public meeting4 to collaborate with stakeholders across the foodservice industry on developing a plan that would strengthen protection of the global food supply. The focus of the meeting was the FDA's Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)5, which shifted the nation's priority from foodborne illness responsiveness to prevention. Enacted by Congress in 2011 as a response to changes in our understanding of foodborne illnesses and their consequences, FSMA recognizes that food supply safety is a responsibility shared by different points in the global supply chain, and it specifies actions that must be taken at each point to inhibit contamination.

Using the input gathered at this meeting, the FDA drew up a strategic plan that outlined a new approach to addressing challenges in public health. The strategy included the development of a means for tracing the source of contaminated foods with predictive analytics tools. In an interview about the FDA's initiative to enhance food system transparency, Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response Frank Yiannas stated that this new era of smarter food safety called for the utilization of modern technologies.6

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

To increase consumer confidence in food safety, stakeholders in the agricultural sphere are implementing AI in traceability and the development of modern and upcoming technologies. The technology ensures food safety compliance, enhances operations, and improves food-tracing visibility, establishing a direct digital link between producers and consumers. Increasing productivity and replacing mundane tasks, agricultural robots detect impurities that could negatively affect crop health. These robots analyze soil samples, alert farmers to discrepancies in crop growth, predict harvest dates, and more. All of this information can be collected and published on a framework accessible by everyone on the supply chain, enabling consumers to see where their product came from, when it was harvested, and when it arrived at the store.7

Blockchain

Quickly accruing significance in the global agrifood sector, blockchain enables users to instantly trace food products throughout their entire lifecycle, bolstering credibility, efficiency, and safety across the supply chain. The technology permanently records digital transactions, removing the need for a third-party processor while providing transparency for all participating foodservice stakeholders. With blockchain, users can efficiently pinpoint contamination sources to prevent outbreaks, and the transparency can optimize brand credibility. In a use case traceability test, it took Walmart's internal team nearly a week to track one package of product. Dissatisfied with the timeliness of tracking, the brand pilot tested blockchain for traceability – which successfully tracked the product from its agricultural origins to its arrival at the facility in a mere 2 seconds.8

The Internet of Things (IoT)

IoT encompasses everything connected to the internet, especially objects that communicate with one another. The technology tracks technical malfunctions along the food supply chain, following foods' transportation across facilities. IoT improves food quality by regulating variables such as air conditioning and lighting. The technology can enhance agricultural conditions for favorable growth, examine foods on production lines to ensure they're meeting safe food compliance standards, minimize waste by efficiently sorting out spoiled product, and more. IoT can even be utilized in food transportation by monitoring product and notifying stakeholders of discrepancies in real time. This technology can predict breakdowns in machinery and simplify the process of contamination in the food supply chain. Using IoT to collect data enables the integration of critical information across multiple sources in one readable space.9

Sources

  1. Eggs in Nationwide 2010 Recall Had USDA Mark of Quality. Robinson, Sam. Accessed January 2021.
  2. Foodborne Illness Acquired in the United States – Major Pathogens. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed January 2021.
  3. Food Recalled in Cancer Dye Scare. BBC News. Accessed January 2021.
  4. Public Meeting on a New Era of Smarter Food Safety. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Accessed January 2021.
  5. Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Accessed January 2021.
  6. Deputy Commissioner Champions More Digital, Transparent Food Safety System. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Accessed January 2021.
  7. The Benefits of Smart Traceability: Using Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture. NeuroChain. Accessed January 2021.
  8. Blockchain Food Traceability Can Revolutionize the Industry. Openlink. Accessed January 2021.
  9. Food Traceability and the IoT Solutions Improving It. IoT For All. Accessed January 2021.