Apple traceability packing solution

Apple packing solution Traceability during production & packing

View Traceability App Specifications.

Food safety and quality play a fundamental role in apple traceability, especially in the background of frequent food safety incidents. Food safety scandals have seriously challenged consumers’ confidence in the agriculture industry and made consumers become more careful about food choices [1,2,3,4]. Some research shows that consumers are focusing on food information and are willing to pay a premium for selected food safety attributes [4,5,6,7]. Traceability, which is referred to as the ability to trace and track, is gaining popularity in the agricultural products supply chain [8,9,10]. It involves control and data acquisition during each phase of the food supply chain and enables transparency through tracing and tracking [11,12,13].
Currently, traceability applications in agricultural products have been extensively studied [14,15,16,17]. As the most information-intensive application, the realization of traceability represents the collection, concatenation, and display of information [18,19]. Although the number of academic publications on food traceability is increasing, most of the existing agri-food traceability systems have not been assessed whether they are effectively implemented. The high level of traceability efficiency always comes with a high workload and labor costs. The traceability system with practical application value should realize traceability efficiency at the item or batch level with affordable costs.
Accordingly, the extent to which the agri-food traceability system is actually applied by Chinese farm managers remains limited [7,20]. The main obstacles to the wide application of agri-food traceability systems continue to be the amount of resource information and the complexity of the production process of agri-food [5,20]. There are many different types of agri-food production, such as greenhouse cultivation, field planting, and livestock farming [21]. In addition, the information generated in the whole agri-food production process is fragmented and dispersed [22]. To obtain complete traceability data, farmers have to deal with many interrelated objects, e.g., farmland, farm input, and logistic objects [23]. Indeed, these issues in agriculture production sectors suggested that the important future challenges for agri-food traceability systems relate not so much to methodological issues, but rather to furthering its practical application in an efficient and trustworthy manner [24].

Apple packing solution packhouse hygiene checklist for food safety

The Food Traceability Final Rule and stakeholders


In 2011, the U.S CDC (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention) estimated that one in six² Americans become ill or die from foodborne illness each year. The FDA published a new food traceability final rule in 2022, to help address this issue. The new rule is designed to enable faster identification and rapid removal of potentially contaminated food from entering the U.S. market. Manufacturers, packers, processors or those who are responsible for holding food under the FTL must comply by January 20, 2026¹. Essentially, the rule requires these organisations to undertake additional and specific record-keeping activities to maintain complete traceability from farm to fork.



Data and format requirements of the Food Traceability Final Regulation


Lot Codes
In addition to a traceability plan, the FDA has outlined the need for traceability lot codes, which enable the FDA to identify the organisations that have handled the product. By understanding how the product moves through the supply chain and the different stages of the food cycle, the FDA can begin to understand where an outbreak originated.

CTEs and KDEs
In addition to the codes, there are also Critical Tracking Events (CTEs) and Key Data Elements (KDEs) required by the FDA, which have been made more explicit in this new template. The data requirements are in accordance with 21 CFR Part 1 Subpart S of the regulation, which also specifies that the data must be submitted as a sortable electronic spreadsheet.

Spreadsheet
Routine inspections will begin in 2027³ following compliance in 2026. Manufacturers, packers, processors or those in possession of the product must submit a fully sortable electronic spreadsheet¹ (link to template from the FDA site) upon FDA request within 24 hours. This data must be retained for a minimum of two years.



Automated solutions to support initial packaging traceability data practices 

Apple packing solution Traceability management best practices

Fresh produce is traditionally labeled with plastic Price LookUp (PLU) stickers that are environmental contaminants and can easily detach during handling and disrupt traceability. The CO2 laser-labeling technology (LLT), an alternate method of produce labeling, has been gaining attention. However, the performance of this technology varies by produce, and consumer perception and acceptability remain understudied. The study evaluated consumers' perception and acceptability of the laser-labeled apple fruit that were purchased locally, laser-printed with a QR code, and coated with edible wax. A consumer study (N = 75) was conducted using 1) Apple with QR-code, 2) Apple with PLU plastic sticker, and 3) non-labeled control. Respondents received randomized treatment samples and completed questionnaires. The study revealed that QR-code labels were less preferred than sticker labels and no labels. Overall liking, label liking, and purchase intent were significantly lower for QR-code labels. However, after providing information about the QR-code benefits, rankings for all labels became statistically similar. Despite 52 % of respondents preferring QR-code labels for their sustainability benefits, they were less likely to recommend them than sticker labels. Laser labeling technology has the potential for industrial application from the consumers' perspectives, and providing consumer education is crucial for its success.