Top 10 Produce: Meeting and Exceeding Food Traceability Standards
By: Stephanie Kennedy
Today there is hardly an aspect of our lives that is not somehow touched by technology. The phones we use, the computers we work at, the cars we drive, the energy we consume, and even the food that we eat are all increasingly being changed by new technologies. With increasing numbers of food contamination incidents that require recall, Top 10 Produce is integrating technology to improve access for both consumer and producer to regional and national good food networks. Top 10 Produce helps small farmers meet or exceed the requirements of the Food Safety and Modernization Act and the Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI) by providing small-scale farmers with labels that can be scanned to make the produce 100% traceable down to either the individual item or the case.
To understand how Top 10 Produce is using new technologies, it is important to briefly touch on the Food Safety and Modernization Act (FSMA), the Produce Traceability Initiative and their objects that make Top 10 possible. The FSMA was signed into law in 2011 in an effort to prevent food- born illness, rather than just react to outbreaks. Its traceability requirements state that food must be fully traceable from its origins and through its distribution channels in case recall is necessary.
However, the Canadian Produce Marketing Association, GS1 US, Produce Marketing Association and United Fresh Produce Association have decided that the FSMA can do more, and have begun promote the Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI), which outlines how to use barcodes to achieve electronic traceability of every case of produce by the year 2012.
Top 10 uses a combination of tools and services to help small farmers comply with the PTI. Top 10 uses a GS1's Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), which is a globally unique barcode number to identify trade items, products, or services, and they also use Quick Response (QR) codes—barcodes that can be placed virtually anywhere to be scanned by smart phones. The information contained in the QR code has various uses with mobile applications and web pages. In conjunction with Top 10's produce brands, each of these types of barcodes is used at Top 10 for traceability; thus providing connections between the farmer and consumer. Top 10's three brands are Top 10, Locale, and Growers Reserve which all allow the farmer to use Top 10's GTIN or their own. The Top 10 brand is marketed as a small farm brand, used by farmers with only a single farm location. The Locale brand must have the name of the farm or region on its label. Both of these labels are traceable by the individual item, and each item must have its own label. The Growers Reserve brand is traceable by the case, and is fully compliant with the FSMA and PTI.
The social marketing program at Top 10 uses GTIN barcodes and QR codes that are on Top 10 produce labels to give the consumer access to information about the farm and the farmer; giving the farmer an opportunity to establish a direct relationship with buyers. In the future, there may be the possibility that Top 10 will allow farmers to take mobile payments from individuals for their produce.
Additional information
http://www.top10produce.com/
http://www.fda.gov/food/foodsafety/fsma/default.htm
http://www.dcvelocity.com/articles/20110816total_recall/
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2010/1123/Food-safety-bill-101-Wha...
