F
ood is such big business these
days because most of us no
longer live on or near farms,
eating food we’ve grown and
produced ourselves. We are now
dependent on food sources out of
our immediate control, way out of our
control in many cases. This is very true
here in Hong Kong, where we rely on
imported food for nearly all of the food
we buy and eat. Much of it is imported
from far afield. The food chain has
become global and food comes from
destinations sometimes unknown.
In recent years, consumers
have grown far more savvy and
conscientious, especially when it comes
to something as vital to our existence as
food. How safe is the food we’re eating?
Does it contain all the nutrients it’s
meant to? Where did it come from? Is it
genuine or has it been altered in some
way? The way to find out is through
a system known as food traceability.
According to the International Food
Information Council Foundation (IFIC),
food traceability is one of the top five
food trends in 2019.
It’s no wonder this topic is trending
more now than ever in the wake of fake
olive oil, counterfeit honey and maple
syrup heists, to name a few of the
relatively tame food scandals of the past
decade. There has been fake chicken,
mislabeled fish, cheese containing wood
pulp, contaminated baby milk powder,
prawns injected with water to increase
the weight and hence price, horse meat
sold as beef and fake eggs (in China,
our backyard) to name but a few more.
Though it’s important to distinguish
between unintentional and deliberate
food alteration or contamination, the
resultant products are not something
consumers want to spend money on
or get sick from. This is where food
traceability comes in, a behind the
scenes and often not-thought-about
process of tracking foods through all
stages of production, processing and
distribution (including importation and
at retail). www.foodstandards.gov.au/
industry/safetystandards/traceability/
Pages/default.aspx
lifestyle
When we talk about food traceability
it’s key to understand why it’s important,
especially in Hong Kong where there
have been instances of counterfeit
food and other contamination issues
related to poor or not transparent
food traceability. Traceability is a set
of tools which enables corrective
actions (such as product recalls) to be
implemented quickly and effectively
when something goes wrong. When
a potential food safety problem is
identified, whether by a food business
or a government agency, an effective
traceability system can help isolate and
prevent contaminated products from
reaching consumers. Traceability allows
food businesses – like grocery stores,
restaurants and food suppliers–to target
any products affected by a food safety
problem, minimising disruption to trade
and any potential public health risks.
It is important for all food businesses
(including retailers and importers) to
be able to trace their products or the
products they handle.
So how is food traceability
accomplished? This is done by ‘tracing’
and ‘tracking’ every product using
procedures and records to carefully
follow products one step forward
and one step back at any point in the
supply chain. Tracing creates a history
of a product’s navigation throughout
the entire food chain, showing its
origin and its movements forward.
Tracking pinpoints the destination of
a particular product, following its path
through the food chain from the point of
manufacturing to the final point of sale
or point of consumption. Like tracing,
the tracking can follow an individual unit
or a batch. The records kept include the
name and address (and other contact
details) of suppliers and customers
as well as a description of products
supplied including dates of delivery, lot/
batch numbers of items, and any other
relevant information about the products.
As the food supply chain becomes
more complex and more global in
scope, the importance of traceability
is greater than ever. Added complexity
means that you must have a system and
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