Nearly 50 years after the first successful barcode scan in a supermarket, history has again been made with ReposiTrak’s creation of the world’s first no-scan Key Data Element (KDE) record and the exchange of food traceability data between a supplier and a distribution center. The breakthrough revolutionises the advancement toward tech-enabled food traceability as defined by the FDA’s FSMA Section 204(d) regulation.
“This is a major milestone for the industry and proves that FSMA 204 compliance is in fact achievable,” said ReposiTrak Chairman and CEO Randy Fields. “It wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work and collaboration between our development and implementation teams, and the retailers and suppliers who saw the opportunity to move fast toward FSMA 204 compliance.”
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The automated traceability landmark is the first time KDE information was successfully passed from a supplier to a distribution center (DC) without the need for additional scanning steps, hardware or software – a key point of difference for the ReposiTrak Traceability Network®. Other traceability solutions depend on physical labeling or RFID tags to transfer information as a product moves through the supply chain.
Built upon the company’s widely used supply chain collaboration platform, the ReposiTrak Traceability Network enables the seamless exchange of even fragmented KDE information for any food product, including those on FDA’s Food Traceability List (FTL). Once enrolled in ReposiTrak, food supply chain companies from suppliers and processors to wholesalers, grocers and restaurants can exchange KDE data in any format and also retrieve that information at any time, from anywhere, by way of a dashboard. The solution also enables these food traceability records to be exported in a sortable spreadsheet – a major requirement of FDA’s FSMA 204 regulation.
“Traceability isn’t new to us. What’s new is that traceability is now the law,” added Fields. “ReposiTrak has been exchanging and storing granular food supply chain information for more than 20 years. Beyond the technology, however, you also gain access to our team, who knows the industry and appreciates the intricacies of each impacted company and will help you through the process.”
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FSMA 204 requires companies that manufacture, process, pack or hold foods on the FTL to establish and maintain Key Data Element (KDE) records for specific Critical Tracking Events (CTEs) in a product’s journey through the supply chain. As that product changes hands or changes form, a compounding string of data must be transferred between trading partners to provide full, end-to-end traceability.
Other solutions require the use of additional labeling and scanning steps, or the use of outdated data capture methods that fail to assemble KDEs according to the FDA’s requirement. The ReposiTrak Traceability Network does not require new hardware or software and has been backed by the industry as the low-cost, easiest-to-adopt solution for FSMA 204 compliance. More than 8% of retail grocery stores, 1,100+ s
