Food Traceability and the Recall Process

By Brian Giannini

Do you ever wonder where your food comes from? Starting in September it may be easier to find out. The Food Safety Modernization Act includes a provision that requires food producers and processors to electronically document and publicly display the path food takes from farmers’ fields to grocery store shelves. It might not be immediately apparent, but this provision could have dramatic impact on sales and revenue for companies faced with managing a recall. The rule is designed to make it easier for the  Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to identify the origin of contaminated or tainted products – in theory making the recall process and recall management more streamlined.

This new law highlights the FDA’s commitment to furthering consumer knowledge, minimizing recalls and increasing technological advancements in the food production and consumer product industries. Some of the information documented by food processors and manufacturers under this rule will be made public and available to curious shoppers who want to know whether the products in their shopping cart are safe, whether the producer who supplied the product is trustworthy, and which products have been recalled. As The Washington Post reported, this will allow shoppers to “wave a smartphone above an apple or orange and learn instantly where it was grown, who grew it and whether it has been recalled.”

This “one step forward, one step back” rule, as it is being referred do, applies to produce and processed foods. While the law has officially been in place in some parts of the industry since 2005, a 2009 investigation by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) inspector general revealed that most food processing facilities surveyed did not meet the legal requirements. In fact, 25 percent of producers weren’t even aware of the law.

 For producers, this new provision reinforces the need for all companies in food-related industries to carefully follow FDA protocols. If the rule is implemented as it was intended, recalls past and present could be a deciding factor for consumers choosing between products, and that could have a big impact on bottom-lines.

The FDA will launch a pilot food traceability program in September, after which the agency must report its results to Congress. In the meantime, companies should revisit their procedures and ensure that effectiveness checks and recall preparedness plans are in place. Since consumers will be able to directly contact farmers under the new rule, farmers and producers should take the next seven months to develop the necessary compliance policies and procedures and consider carefully how they might impact recall strategy.