Implementation of traceability in food industry with special allusion to meat industry

Abstract

Traceability is progressively becoming standard across food industry. This is resulting in emergence of various traceability concepts suited to different industry needs. Outbreak of livestock diseases and their transfer to humans have generated requirement for reliable traceability in meat industry. This traceability would track an individual meat product back to its animal of origin. International Organization for Standardization have defined traceability as ability to follow movement of food through specified stages of production, processing and distribution. Traceability systems are record keeping systems that show the path of particular product from suppliers to consumers. Traceability systems apart from identification provide other information like country of origin, species. Traceability systems range from paper based systems to bar codes, radio frequency identification devices. Tracing of animals provides confidence in certification schemes and it forms an essential component of risk management strategy as well as is a key requirement for post marketing surveillance.