The island of Ireland’s reputation in food traceability remains strong, however it is crucial that we keep up to date with new global technologies to ensure we maintain our position, says Denis O’Brien, Director of Standards and Solutions GS1 Ireland
"The island of Ireland has an extremely high reputation for food traceability. We are known across the globe for our standards in food production and have been invited to address international authorities on our traceability expertise. The danger however is that we become complacent.” In order to maintain standards, Denis notes that the industry needs to continually educate itself regarding new technologies being introduced and implemented internationally.
“It is important that we invest in new technologies”. These technologies apply to different areas of data sharing. “Traceability is all about data sharing, whether internally within factories or across the supply chain. For example, product master data is where you share information about a product with a customer or supplier in an initial trading relationship – this data can change, but rarely does. Meanwhile, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) involves sending data that may refer to batches of product and it can vary from one batch to the next. This information is shared peer to peer.”
New technologies coming down the line however are delving deeper into not only the type of information being shared but also the way in which it is shared. Electronic Product Code Information Services (EPCIS) is an open standard which allows businesses to capture and share supply chain information about the movement and status of goods. “This involves a centralised data repository that everyone can submit data to regarding a particular product – for example with fish: it can include information such as where the fish was caught, what vessel was used, where it was landed, the unique batch number, and the customer can publish that they received the product. This records and stores strong transactional information and is permission driven in relation to those that can access and add to the data.” Denis notes that while this technology is well established, the usage of it is very much in its infancy.
Another technology, which Denis refers to as “the internet of things” may be a little premature, but will be a fundamental shift in traceability in the coming years. This would allow information on products, pallets and containers to be available online, in much the same way that customers can now track packages from courier companies. “In the near future, instead of searching for information, we are going to be bombarded with it. We should be aware of this in relation to setting up new systems.”
The biggest change in product traceability, says Denis, is that at the moment it is a ‘one step forward, one step back’ process. “Currently, all you need to know is that you bought the product from a particular supplier. In the future you will need to know where your supplier bought it from.” A huge driver for this is to tackle the ongoing prevalence of counterfeiting.
“The important thing is that people who are involved in traceability educate themselves in what is happening across the globe.”
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