ISO 22000: Traceability in Food Supply Chains /Traditional Traceability Concept - II

Part II

ISO 22000 & Food Traceability

ISO 22000 food traceability, at the heart of food safety management system, essential for a variety of food investigations and a valuable facilitator of global food trade, involves the ability to identify, at any specified stage of the food chain (from production to distribution) from where the food came (one step back) and to where the food went (one step forward), the so-called “one-up, one-down” system (OUOD). This necessitates that each lot of each food material is given a unique identifier which accompanies it and is recorded at all stages of its progress through its food chain. Because multi-ingredient foods may include materials from a variety of food chains and countries, importers may have to rely on the traceability systems of other countries up to the point of import.

Considering ISO 22000 food safety requirements, traceability is the ability to track any food through all stages of production, processing and distribution (including importation and at retail). Traceability should mean that movements can be traced one step backwards and one step forward at any point in the supply chain. As to the traditional traceability concept of ISO 22000, it is basically depend on the place of food chain to isolate any specific actor in the food supply chain where any individual operation can be segmented. This helps to identify the root causes easily, at the same time it focuses on the internal process. 

Traditional Traceability Concept

Today, most current product traceability data management systems were designed under regulation concept of “One Step Backward and One Step Forward”. This concept is shown in figure 3 and 4 where a given traceability actor in supply chain concern only one level backward of incoming raw material history while concerning internal process as the in-between  raw material to  product and the history of product delivery to customer which may be a wholesaler, processor or end user. The advantage of traditional traceability model is flexible and easy to follow while small and medium businesses can design and manage own traceability system which will be mostly paper based and it can reach regulation requirements.

Picture 3: Traditional Traceability System Model

As to the given illustration, each traceability partner have individual traceability database and may apply different standard. Each traceability dataset consist of internal and external data.

Traceability Data Management

Internal traceability data are collection of data records and information of raw material, production and product delivery. External traceability data are collection of unique data to identify the product unite, normally carried in product label or container which usually consist of compound data such as;

Product code and lot number of product

Product code and serial number

Product code and transportation number

The use of relevant data depends on the type of product and activity where logistic information is also included to locate the product in the event of recall. Receipt process and customer‘s internal traceability data will be kept at customer location.

Traceability Data Processes

There are three traceability data processes in particular processes as given below:

Picture 4: Framework of traceability processes

Inbound receipt item Process:

When raw material or finish products are arrived at a given destination, traceable item receipt (TIR) process is performed (i.e. GRN – Good Received Note) by collecting product information (products code and lot of item receipts) and logistic information (when and where it come from) for traceability requirements. 

Production Process:

Traceable Item Create (TIC) process is perform by collection of production information (which lot of raw material are used to produce each lot of products) at the event of new lots of products have been manufactured.  

Outbound Process:

Traceable Item Source (TIS) process is performed by collecting transportation information (which lot of product is delivered and where the destination of transportation is), when sending item to customer given customer.