Product traceability

Farmers has to prove with documents that their agricultural practices comply with the
requirements of the Good Agricultural Practice and their product can be traced from and to
the buyer. Traceability is based on product and bach identification. In the traceability
system there is a link between the product – processes and related information, with
ingredients and other components. Traceability systems have to exist between producers processors
and retailers. If the traceability system between the members of the food chain
is not assured, the traceability and safety of the products can be doubtful.
As a final conclusion traceability means and serves the exchanges of information between
the partners in the food chain, and not to inform the final consumer. This does not exclude
the consumer information, or in the case of a food safety problem solves the arrised
problem.
Farmers have to comply with article 18 of 178/2002 EC Regulation, where the rules for
traceabiliy are established. The article has to be used starting from the 1. January 2005.
According to this article:

The traceability of food, feed, food-producing animals, and any other substances
intended to be or expected to be incorporated into a food or feed shall be established at
all stages of production, processing and distribution.
2. Food and feed business operators shall be able to identify any person from whom they
have been supplied with a food, a feed, a food-producing animal or any substance,
intended to be or expected to be, incorporated into a food or feed.
To this end such operators shall have in place systems and procedures which allow for
this information to be made available to the competent authorities on demand.
3. Food and feed business operators shall have in place systems and procedures to
identify the other businesses to which their products have been supplied. This
information shall be made available to the competent authorities on demand.
4. Food or feed which is placed on the market or is likely to be placed on the market in
the Community shall be adequately labelled or identified to facilitate its traceability,
through relevant documentation or information in accordance with the relevant
requirement or more specific provisions.
5. Provision for the purpose of applying the requirements of this Article in respect of
specific sectors may be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in article
58(2).

The company has to:
• identify the arriving products, and to be able to trace the products and processes through
production, storing, transport and if necessary in the retail sector to the consumer,
• assure that the different classes, varieties or baches are not mixed or are not used for
non- conforming use. Where is possible the baches have to be identified individually and
the identification has to be maintained.
• be able to identify and trace back the product to the production, or where is possible to
the initial material and the process.
• use the most practical system. The efficiency of the system has to be controlled from
time to time to be convinced that the baches can be traced.
The use of traceability systems suppose the knowledge of the product, processes and the related
information, the bach type and quantity, other inputs and outputs in the system and the
distribution system. In the case of difficult traceability situations they have to be separated in
smaller parts.
It is very important to have contacts between the different partners of the traceability system
and the product has to be traceable from one to the other. That means that the traceability is
assured from the producer to the consumer and vice versa.