Food traceability plays an essential role in the manufacturing industry. Did you know that the global food traceability market is growing and is projected to reach $30,524.6 million by 2030?
This trend is unsurprising, as a proper approach to food traceability minimizes trade disruptions, ensures food safety, reduces waste, and helps prevent food fraud. In addition, compliance with the FDA FSMA 204 is becoming a major topic for discussion, and more and more companies are incorporating digital solutions to meet compliance deadlines.
We even dare say that implementing food traceability technologies is necessary regardless of your goal. Manual tracking, cumbersome paperwork, and multiple supply chain stages will prevent you from growing and ensuring the highest product quality unless you incorporate a modern digital solution.
Keep reading our blog to learn more about food traceability technologies and how they can help you.
What Are the Key Technologies in Food Traceability?
Modern technology is diverse. Here’s what you can implement in your business to improve food traceability:
- Food Traceability Software
- RFID and Barcode Technology
- IoT (Internet of Things)
- Blockchain Technology
But what exactly are these solutions, and what do they do? We want to break down each innovation in detail so you can learn how it functions and how it can help your business.
1. Cloud Food Traceability Software
Cloud food traceability software is a digital solution that helps food manufacturers track and trace product movement in the supply chain. Its features include real-time visibility and access, centralization and automation, streamlined documentation, and monitoring ingredients from raw materials to finished products in one unified platform.
More and more businesses implement cloud software: the size of the food traceability software market was valued at $243.46 million in 2023 and is expected to grow to $283.71 million by 2030.
The solution helps improve data management, ensure compliance with regulations, such as FDA FSMA, and satisfy the growing customer demand for food safety and quality. Moreover, by implementing the software, you reduce data silos and human error, as well as save time for other tasks that need your attention.
Cloud-based traceability software enables integrations with other systems, IoT devices, RFID systems, and other technologies to enhance data accuracy and supply chain visibility.
For instance, FoodReady food traceability software enables efficient temperature monitoring with Bluetooth thermometers. You can control the temperature of ingredients and finished products and implement corrective actions in case of an issue.
Speaking about thermometers, let’s see how IoT devices can simplify your food traceability operations!
2. IoT (Internet of Things)
The Internet of Things is connected devices, such as sensors or trackers, that create a unified network and allow real-time data to be collected and sent throughout the supply chain.
For instance, IoT devices provide real-time visibility of the location and status of a food product. It helps manufacturers track the foods in the supply chain and prevent mislabelling or missing items.
Moreover, IoT devices efficiently monitor temperature, humidity, and other critical parameters, and the technology will let you know when any deviation occurs. This feature helps ensure that the products are stored and transported correctly and are safe.
Apart from that, IoT technology enables predictive analytics to help identify potential bottlenecks and issues.
Technology like this is indispensable for a food traceability system as it provides transparency in the supply chain, improves efficiency, and helps respond to potential issues quickly. This is how you can keep track of your product from farm to fork and oversee its safety and quality.
3. RFID and Barcode Technology
RFID and Barcode technology are essential tools in modern food traceability systems. They enable efficient and precise tracking in the supply chain.
RFID stands for radio frequency identification. The technology uses radio waves to transmit data from an RFID tag to a reader. The tag has a sensor attached to an antenna, making sending the data possible. This is practical when tracking products in bulk, as the reader can scan multiple tags simultaneously.
On the other hand, barcodes are widely used for item-level tracking. The technology involves reading black-and-white lines of a barcode with a beam of light. You can scan barcodes at any supply chain stage and get all the necessary information. This is how you can ensure correct and accurate product logging and tracking for compliance and quick response.
Did you know that FoodReady enables robust barcode scanning? As a GS1 channel partner, the software helps businesses easily track their products and stay FSMA-compliant. The partnership helps ensure food traceability, enhance compliance, and increase supply chain transparency.
Overall, both RFID and barcode technologies have their limitations and pros and cons. For instance, while RFID is more convenient because it’s faster, barcode scanning is more cost-efficient and requires less setup. It’s up to you to decide what fits you needs better.
4. Blockchain Technology
Blockchain technology leverages a decentralized and immutable ledger system to ensure data integrity and security. How does blockchain work in food traceability?
The technology tracks and records every supply chain step – sourcing, harvesting, processing, packaging, etc. in a “block” of data. These data blocks are stored in a network of computers and are chronologically linked. It means that when someone wants to alter the data, it will be detected.
Blockchain technology is helpful for recall management. It can be used to trace back the affected product, minimizing risks. Thanks to a transparent record of a product’s journey, you can easily verify the food’s origin, whether it is organic or non-GMO.
For instance, you can oversee each step of fresh produce’s journey from farm to grocery store, including transportation, retailer inventory data, etc. The information is safely stored in the blockchain, creating a single accessible data chain.
Briefly speaking, the technology gives visibility into the supply chain, helping ensure compliance, consumer safety, and data security.
Leverage Food Traceability Technology With FoodReady!
FoodReady food traceability software is a digital solution that will help you bring your food traceability to a new level. Our platform will allow you to digitize and centralize your traceability system and other processes, helping you streamline monitoring and reduce cumbersome manual product tracking.
With FoodReady software, recall management is a breeze. You will rapidly identify affected batches and their locations in the supply chain. This is how we help food companies mitigate safety risks, minimize recall impact, reduce downtime, and maintain consumer trust.
Our software is an excellent solution for those wanting to implement technology to boost their food traceability. Not only do you implement a comprehensive digital solution, but you also benefit from integrated tools and other essential features for the food and beverage industry.
Perfect your food traceability system with FoodReady software. Book a demo to learn more!
Let’s Conclude
Implementing food traceability technologies can help food and beverage businesses achieve excellent results, including compliance, efficiency, and safety. If you are confused about what to choose, you can think about food traceability software, IoT devices, barcode scanners, RFID, or blockchain technology.
Traceability software for the food industry is a customizable solution that will centralize your operations, improve compliance, ensure data management, and help with other aspects of food traceability and beyond.
RFID and barcode technology will enable efficient product tracking in the supply chain, and IoT devices will help with real-time data collection. Finally, blockchain technology will help ensure accessibility, privacy, and traceability.
FoodReady traceability software is an excellent technological solution. With a cloud platform, you will leverage integrated tools, such as barcode scanners and IoT devices, to provide even more visibility into the supply chain and successfully manage traceability.
Book a demo to see the FoodReady functionality, which will ensure traceable products and benefit your business.
FAQs
There are many benefits of food traceability software. Leveraging a cloud-based platform can streamline your system, save time and resources, and improve regulatory compliance and product safety.
Without food traceability technology, food manufacturers can experience difficulties in managing recalls, fail to comply with regulatory requirements, lack supply chain transparency, lose customer trust, suffer from reputational damage, etc.
Food traceability technologies help manage recalls quickly, track products at a lot level, and automate recordkeeping.
Moreover, you can quickly generate reports, ensure data accuracy, and keep your records accessible for audits. Food traceability tools streamline compliance with FDA FSMA, HACCP, and GFSI standards.
Food manufacturers should use digital traceability solutions to handle supply chain complexities and comply with regulations, including the FSMA 204 rule and HACCP.
This decision will bring many benefits, including recall-readiness, improved supply chain transparency, compliance, and customer satisfaction.
