Australian fresh produce traceability app

Australian fresh produce traceability app Packing Software Food Safety

Fresh produce quality inspection specifications & requirements. 

Traceability of produce
Being able to track where your produce has come from and gone to will help you respond quickly if something goes wrong, and will prevent people becoming ill.

What is traceability?
Traceability is the ability to track produce through all stages of its production, processing and distribution.

What are the requirements?
Primary producers and primary processors of berries, leafy vegetables and melons must have a system in place that can identify from whom their produce was received; and to whom their produce was supplied.

These requirements are under primary production and processing standards for horticulture for berries, leafy vegetables and melons.

What does this mean for me?
For primary producers, you must know details of where and who your harvested produce goes to, from the premises it was grown on.
For primary processors, you must be able to trace produce at least one step forward and one step back in the supply chain – that is, who and where you receive produce from; as well as who and where you supply produce to. For berries, this needs to include information on the growing site’s location (e.g. in case you receive or supply berries from a business that owns multiple farms).
If you wash, trim, sort, sanitise, store, combine, pack or transport produce (between primary processing premises), you are a primary processor.
These are the minimum requirements – check with your food regulator if you need to meet other requirements, such as having a recall system, food labelling, etc.
Getting it right – reducing your risk
For best practice, have a strong traceability system that includes:

procedures for identifying producers, suppliers, customers and products
contact details (name, address, phone, email) of your suppliers and a description of products or inputs they each supply
your customers’ contact details and a description of the product you supplied to them
dates of transaction or delivery
batch numbers or lot identifications (or other markings)
quantities of product supplied or received
any other production records relevant to your business.
Top tip: The more detail you include in your traceability system (e.g. lot numbers, plot or paddock identification), the faster and more targeted you’ll be able to respond if there’s a problem with your product.

Australian fresh produce traceability app Software Packaging Standards

As consumers demand more transparency around what they are eating, NSW DPI is encouraging fresh food producers to use technology to track and trace a product’s journey from paddock to plate. Biosecurity incursions, food safety recalls or emergencies such as floods or bushfires need rapid responses to protect the supply chain and consumers but gathering this information takes time. Until now, that is.

A pilot study using GS1 data standards and a GS1 Digital Link QR code to create a digital map of products in the NSW cherry and potato industries has the potential to change that. Study results showed that using an integrated digital traceability system Paddock to supermarket traceability can improve industry competitiveness, buyer confidence and market access for horticultural products produced in NSW.

In a new era of food security challenges, traceability provides transparency of a product’s provenance and where it is in the supply chain, providing consumers with confidence in a high-quality Australian product. By working with growers, the study improved understanding of what is required on-farm to enable traceability and what the benefits would be to others along the supply chain.

As part of the study, unique serialised QR codes with a GS1 Digital Link label were applied to Woolworths-branded brushed potatoes and organic cherries bags and punnets. The GS1 Digital Link was encrypted with location data and a scannable QR code, which led to an interactive consumer application that Digital solutions helping to trace food from paddock to plate could be viewed on a smartphone. The GS1 Digital Link enabled the product to be traced in real-time, from property to store.

It also provided information about how the product moved along the supply chain, the time spent at each location and allowed for realtime feedback from consumers. Capturing and sharing data at every point in the supply chain — growers, carriers, retailers and the government —can enable full trace-back and trace-forward visibility in real-time.

The pilot study was conducted in partnership with Woolworths, Food Agility CRC, Freshchain Systems, GS1 Australia, Mitolo Family Farms, Cantrill Organics and Cherry Growers Australia.

The ability to trace fruit one-step-forward and one-step-backward is currently the minimum requirement in the supply chain. With the increasing complexities in the supply chain and international trade, the current requirements are not adequate to address consumers’ curiosity to know more about the farming history and journey of fruit. Regulatory authorities also need quick access to complete information on the product origin and its distribution during food safety failures to minimise damage to the public health and trade. That is why there is a global push to adopt end-to-end digital traceability of food products.

Melons Australia, in partnership with the NSW Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI), has received funding from the Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment for a traceability project. The project aims to improve the traceability systems in the melon industry, enhance export competitiveness and promote brand Australia.

Background
Melons Australia has been proactive in managing food safety and traceability issues that could become counter-productive to their growth and profitability in domestic and export markets. Adopting digital traceability in the melon supply chain will further ensure the industry continues to be a global leader with a world-class traceability system. This will help capture and increase our share in the premium markets with safe, high quality and traceable fruit.

Benefits of a traceability system in the melon industry
There are several benefits of adopting a robust traceability system for the melon industry. Commercial benefits of enhanced traceability exceed the requirements from regulatory and consumer perspectives. The adoption of digital traceability generates data that is useful for:

supply chain management
rapid product recalls
food fraud prevention
meeting consumer expectations.
A digital system further allows:

a reliable track and trace of fruit within a short period beyond farmgate to undertake trade or consumer level recalls, if necessary, without negatively affecting the whole category and the industry.
brand identification and promotion
product authenticity and provenance advantage
supply chain management and consumer feedback
farm biosecurity and property identification.
Melon traceability system essentials
A robust system, with internal and external traceability capacities, should be followed to manage food safety risks and brand protection. The internal traceability systems should identify and record the sources of seed/seedling, chemicals and fertilisers, agronomic and plant protection practices, microbiological testing, and postharvest practices. The external traceability system should trace and track the melons beyond farmgate until it reaches the consumer.

Melon Traceability Project overview
To accelerate the adoption of digital traceability in the melon supply chains, the project will:

evaluate a range of technological solutions available in the Australian market for their suitability and adoption by melon growers, packers and traders
conduct pilot trials for the evaluation of various technological solutions to assess their suitability and resolve practical issues facing the adoption of digital traceability
promote the labelling of individual melon fruits for physical identification and brand promotion
provide the melon industry with a best practice on traceability to ensure the industry supports the national traceability framework and exceeds the requirements of trading partners and consumers
enhance the growers’ awareness on digital traceability adoption.