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2. The importance of traceability in food safety
Effective traceability systems that minimize risk are recognised as a critical tool to assure food safety (Aung and Chang, 2014). International food traceability standards are set through the joint FAO and WHO Food Standards Programme – the Codex Alimentarius Commission. The principles of food traceability are laid out in CAC/GL 60–2006: “The traceability/product tracing tool should be able 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), as appropriate to the objectives of the food inspection and certification system” (CAC, 2006). The adoption of these principles is underpinned by national and international regulation (see e.g. EU Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, and national approaches reviewed by Charlebois et al., 2014). This pragmatic one up/one down arrangement connects all bound supply chain members as all actors know who their suppliers are and where their product is sold. However, reliance on the one up/one down approach still leaves the supply chain vulnerable, as many food products have complex multi-step vertical and horizontal branching supply chains (e.g. multiple ingredient products). In addition, one up/one down traceability can be easily lost in commodity products that are blended (e.g. milk from multiple farms in a dairy) or dissected and mixed through the supply chain (e.g. animals for meat production). With such complexity, it soon becomes impossible to verify the provenance and quality standards of specific products. In addition, the food industry is still largely reliant on paper records, with limited amounts of these ever being captured into a computerized and searchable format. Poor transparency through multiple supply chain steps can promote or conceal fraud.
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