Traceability is not new to growers and thanks to the Produce
Traceability Initiative (PTI), neither is the concept of making produce
traceability visible across the entire supply chain. When the PTI was
introduced in 2008 we used the term whole chain traceability; this meant the
grower would apply a label with case traceability information on it and at each
subsequent step in the supply chain the receiver would scan and record this
information on inbound receipts and outbound shipments. Being a voluntary
initiative, the major grower-shippers, distributors, and retails supported the
initiative. The PTI Leadership council was formed and case labeling
specifications were published. Many of the large grower-shippers have converted
their internal traceability systems to the GS1 standards-based case traceability
labeling of PTI to enable external traceability.
In the early days, several retailers sent letters to their produce suppliers requesting PTI labeling, but compliance was either voluntary or not enforced. In June of 2013, Walmart stepped forward to notify produce suppliers that they had to have PTI case labels on product shipped to them by January 2014.
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