Fundamentals:Chain traceability definition
From TraceFood
Chain traceability is the ability to trace product information through links in a supply chain, in other words the relevant information a company gets and gives away about a specific product.
Chain traceability deals with the data you receive and the data you send. Chain traceability typically has the following characteristics:
- It occurs between companies and between countries
- It depends on internal traceability being present
- There are major privacy issues
- Standards for recording and exchange of data are needed
The enforcement of chain traceability implies the development of systems providing information on the entire life cycle of food products, "from the farm - or the sea - to the fork", or indeed the other way round. A company located in one specific link of a supply chain may very well have completely manual systems for record keeping of traceability information. However, electronic solutions facilitate business partners to reconstruct the complete process history of any food efficiently and quickly. Software houses now offer sophisticated traceability systems that give you access to all aspects of a food's provenance at any time and from any level of the food chain.
