Food Traceability & Transparency
By: Isaac Duru
Have you ever felt sick after eating a meal at a restaurant? If the answer is yes, I’m sure you’d stop eating at that restaurant, or at least the specific meal. Dealing with food poisoning or other painful food-borne illnesses caused by outbreaks makes us wonder; how can this be avoided? Improving transparency and traceability in the food industry can prevent situations like these from recurring.
Why do they matter?
The increase in consumer awareness regarding food safety, health, and environmental concerns continue to drive the food traceability market. Transparency with customers allows them to see how their food was sourced, all ingredients, the process it underwent, and more. Knowledge about the contents of food is important in order for customers to make informed decisions on what they're eating. With traceability, the consumer can trace the movement of a food product and its ingredients throughout its supply chain (FDA). The production, processing and distribution chain of the food system are unified through documentation. With these solutions, the global food traceability market was valued at $18.3 billion and is expected to reach $31.7 billion by 2028 with a CAGR of 9.2%. (IMARC)
For example, there were multiple E.Coli outbreaks in 2022 that affected ground beef from HelloFresh meal kits, frozen falafels from Earthgrown, and multiple Wendy’s restaurants spanning multiple states. Over 100 illnesses were reported, with the majority stemming from Wendy’s. With current technology, investigators traced the origin of these outbreaks and communicated to customers about which foods may be contaminated.
Technology in Food Transparency & Traceability
As technology advances, there are increasing ways to improve food transparency and traceability. Implementing blockchain technology, an advanced database for recording information, making it difficult for the system to be changed/hacked, Internet of Things (IoT) to improve the tracking of products during shipments and RFID (radio frequency identification), allowing us to identify specific products and their quantity in real time. Companies like iFood and FoodLogiQ are startups trying to lead innovative changes for food traceability across the global food supply chain. iFood plans to provide growers, distributors, grocery retailers and others in the supply chain with tools to prioritize the safety, quality, and value of their products for consumers. FoodLogiQ works with companies to ensure they are in compliance with food safety and provides management to suppliers.
Conclusion
As the trend of consumers seeking transparency regarding how their food is made and understanding the supply chain it goes through grows, innovators continue to leverage technology to provide solutions. The use of technology allows for efficient communication between suppliers and the consumers, allowing both parties to trace their products. The transparency provided by companies “allow” the consumer to make well-informed decisions about the food they eat.