ELECTRONIC
TRACEABILITY
SYSTEMS
VS.
PAPER
BASED
TRACEABILITY
SYSTEMS
Outline
1. ISO standard recommendations
2. Pros and cons of paper based traceability
systems
3. Pros and cons of electronic traceability systems 4. Conclusion
ISO 22005:2007 recommendations
• The choice of a traceability system is influenced by
regulations, product characteristics and customer
expectations
• Terms such as “document traceability”, “computer
traceability” or “commercial traceability” should be
avoided
• In this presentation we will apply the terminology
“paper‐based traceability systems ” and “electronic
ISO 22005:2007 recommendations
• ISO 22005:2007 does not distinguish between
paper‐based and electronic traceability systems.
However, traceability systems must be:
 Verifiable  Applied consistently and equitably  Results oriented  Cost effective  Practical to apply  Compliant with any applicable regulation or policy  Compliant with defined accuracy requirements
ISO 22005:2007 recommendations
•
Food
Traceability
Systems
should:
 Support food safety and/or quality objectives  Meet customer specifications  Determine the history or origin of the product  Facilitate the withdrawal and/or recall of products  Identify the responsible organizations in the feed and food supply chains  Facilitate the verification of specific information about the product  Communicate information to relevant stakeholders and
ISO 22005:2007 recommendations
•
Food
Traceability
Systems
should:
 Fulfill any local, regional, national or international regulations or policies, as applicable
 Improve the effectiveness, productivity and profitability of the organization
Background, mandatory procedures
• When implementing Food Traceability, a number of
procedures need to be established:
 Product definition, lot definition and identification  Documentation of flow of materials and information including media for record keeping  Data management and recording protocols  Information retrieval protocols  Non‐conformity and corrective action handling
• Both paper-based and electronic traceability systems can be designed to conform to the above requirements
Paper‐based traceability systems • Traditional method
• Includes manual methods where information is transferred
from some other temporary media to paper based records
• Processes are documented by procedures and check‐lists:
 By whom (Individuals can sign off if required)  Where (Pond, cage, production line, etc.)
 When (Date and time for each action is normally recorded)
 How (Reference to process description, recipe etc.)
• At the end of the production cycle, paper records are
archived. Agreed information is passed on to supply chain
Paper‐based traceability systems, pros
• Low cost
• Practical in many instances
• Comprehensive records can be maintained provided
good document management practices are applied
• Durable if archived in appropriate conditions
• Signed documents are well‐established as legal
Paper‐based traceability systems, cons
• Document retrieval can be time consuming
• Quantity of documents to be archived can be
overwhelming
• Paper is vulnerable to humidity, fire etc.
• Information exchange only at certain times &
Paper‐based traceability systems, cons
• Paper can be easily copied or forged
• Error prone
• Once lost, the information can not easily be
reconstructed
Electronic traceability systems
• Relatively new method
• Solutions mimic paper‐based solutions by recording
processes, procedures and check‐lists electronically
• Make use of a variety of data entry tools
• Operators are forced to follow the correct process
Electronic traceability systems
• Some degree of data input control can be applied
• Agreed data passed on to supply chain partners
electronically in electronic despatch notes
• Data can be made available real time, anywhere, at
Electronic traceability systems, pros
• Immediate retrieval of records
• Data can easily be made available to supply chain
partners, certification agencies, food safety
inspectors, supply chain partners and import
authorities
• Facilitates analysis in terms of statistics and data
mining, which can be used to increase production
efficiency
Electronic traceability systems, pros
• Can be configured to automatically record:
 Temperature, humidity, salinity, oxygen level etc.
 Identifiers (bar codes / RFID / Smart labels)
 Identity of person recording data
 Identity of person accessing / trying to access
data or modifying / trying to modify data
 Usage of feed, pesticides, fertilizer etc.
Electronic traceability systems, cons
• Historically seen as costly to implement (typically
provided as part of expensive ERP systems ...)
• Vulnerable to intrusion / data privacy
• Requires some degree of IT literacy by users
• Legal significance is growing but not as established
as for signed documents
• Only as secure as the storage media and back‐up
Attention!
• Neither paper‐based nor electronic traceability
systems provide any guarantee that the information
recorded is correct
• Systems and methodology are only as good as the
operating procedures and practices applied
• Inspection, control and non‐conformance
monitoring is essential to ensure traceability system
Record keeping – Manual vs. Electronic
Mortality record (Manual)
Record keeping – Manual vs. Electronic
electronic traceability systems…
•
Improved
productivity
•
Improved
paperwork
flow
in
dealing
with
certification
agencies,
inspection
authorities
and
government
•
Ancillary
functions,
such
as
inventory
management,
cost
of
production
analysis
Benefits of electronic record keeping
SPLAM
SALT
SALM
Higher productivity, Lower cost
• fast
• effortless
• error free
Information interchange is cheaper, more accurate, more secure and more provable than exchanging printed documents.
• slow
• huge effort
Thank you
