In
July, the FDA announced the New Era of Smarter Food Safety, a new
approach to food safety that leverages “technology and other tools to create a
safer and more digital, traceable food system.” The FDA focus is on four
elements for reducing foodborne illness: tech-enabled traceability, smarter
tools and approaches for prevention and outbreak response, new business models
and retail modernization and food safety culture.”
According to
the FDA, when it comes to
food traceability, “many in the food system still utilize a largely paper-based
system of taking one step forward to identify where the food has gone and one
step back to identify the source. The use of new and evolving digital
technologies envisioned in the New Era of Smarter Food Safety will play
a pivotal role in tracing the origin of a contaminated food to its source in
minutes, or even seconds, instead of days or weeks.”
And, of course, the COVID-19
pandemic has accelerated interest in digital technologies, including those that
will improve food traceability.
Meeting
Traceability Challenges
Food
traceability isn’t just an industry concern. As Zebra’s recent Food
Safety Supply Chain Vision Study found, both consumers and industry decision
makers are concerned about the source, quality and safety of their food. Nearly
70% of decision makers say the industry is well equipped to manage food
traceability and transparency, but only 35% of consumers agree.
Recent
product recalls and food safety incidents, new FDA food safety goals, the
Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI), an industry-led program designed to help
the industry adopt electronic traceability across the supply chain—as well as
new food safety threats posed by the COVID-19 pandemic—are among many factors
driving the need for new and improved traceability solutions.
The
Zebra study found that nearly all (90%) of industry decision makers acknowledge
that investments in traceability-focused solutions will provide them with a
competitive advantage, by enabling them to meet consumer expectations.
Food Safety Scanning
Solutions
Most
(90%) of the industry decision maker respondents to the Zebra study say they
expect to use rugged barcode scanners and other mobile technology within the
next five years to digitally manage and track food products and related
information.
Zebra’s ultra-rugged handheld
scanners can help food manufacturers and warehousing operations achieve food
traceability goals by creating a complete record of every product as it moves
through each step in the facility. The Zebra 3600 line of ultra-rugged
scanners, for example, is a new class of handheld scanner built to deliver the
unstoppable performance required by today’s demanding environments.
Integrated with RedLine’s produce software, Zebra
scanners can help you achieve fast and accurate barcode capture and meet
end-to-end product traceability requirements. Redline Solutions’ industry-leading
management, inventory and traceability solution provides a practical inventory
control tool for produce growers, shippers and distributors. Our software suite
enables fast, accurate, electronic collection of all product movements and transactions—updating
our current system with real-time data, while providing your staff with actionable
information that enables them to be more accurate, productive and efficient.
If you are a grower, shipper or distributor of
fresh produce, our software will enable you to easily manage your
fresh produce inventory and orders, from receipt through shipment,
including the management of bins, cases and pallets, pack lines, label
printing, order management, shipment processing and more.
With Zebra handheld scanners and Redline produce
software, we can help you improve staff productivity in your facility and the
web UI can be securely accessed by you from anywhere.
End-to-end
traceability starts here. Find out how Zebra’s series of ultra-rugged handheld
scanners—integrated with RedLine’s industry-leading management, inventory and
traceability solution—can help you achieve unparalleled, end-to-end visibility
and unheralded productivity.
© RedLine Solutions Inc. 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s owner is strictly prohibited. This blog was written and provided to RedLine Solutions by Zebra Technologies and any excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to RedLine Solutions, Zebra Technologies and there is the inclusion of a link to www.traceabilitynerd.com. All rights reserved. RedLine Solutions name and logo, referred to in this document, are trademarks of RedLine Solutions Inc.
