Food Traceability

Abstract

Obviously, traceability is a generic term which is applicable to products across industries; however, it is widely practiced in food industry. Many definitions of traceability can be found and defined by organizations and individuals with different perspectives based on different products’ supply chain. The global concern for food safety and quality and the need for traceability are being addressed by the development of legislation, new international standards, and industry guidelines. Quality and safety are both linked to traceability, whereas safety is implicated by traceability more often. They are two very important elements of people’s conceptions of food and associated decision-making (i.e., food choice). Traceability is primarily viewed as a tool for the food safety by providing means for recall as well as proof for authenticity of food, but it also related to food quality. Since both quality and safety were shown to be related to confidence, traceability may indeed boost consumer confidence through quality and safety assessments.