Traceability,
a concept which has been in existence for a long time, which was
limited to secret services of areas involving high risks or net
worth, has seen a rise in application in the food safety and quality
industry. Every step of logistics, right from packaging to the end
consumer, now uses different techniques of food
traceability for varied reasons. However, the core driver of the
market has been the growing importance of the ability to track any
food item to its origin. This is due to the rise in incidences of
food borne diseases and outbreaks and due to complex quality
regulations pushing for the need to monitor quality at every step,
The market is experiencing steady growth with a healthy growth rate
expected in the near future.
The
global market for food traceability is technology driven and is
seeing introduction of new technologies and applications across
different levels such as in packaging, logistics, storage, handling,
and retail. The different technologies currently available in the
market are barcode, RFID, biometrics, GPS, and infrared. These
technologies have different applications across various stages of
food movement and for different types of foodstuff. Among all these,
a barcode is largely used for packaged foods, while RFID or GPS is
used for food involving movement of live feedstock.
The
food traceability market can also be analyzed by segmenting it based
on applications across different sectors such as dairy products,
vegetables and fruits (fresh produce/seeds), canned or bottled food,
beverages, meat, poultry, and fish or seafood. However, the extent of
adoption of technologies across these application segments largely
depends on the size of the firm producing the product and region of
trade (destination). For instance, for local trade there is hardly
any kind of quality check required, with food from farms directly
entering the market. However, the same food when packaged for a
regional or international market may require appropriate quality
checks or tagging to ensure it
is traceable. These regulatory requirements depend on trade
regulations and FDA (food and drugs agency) laws of the destination
market.
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These
diverse applications require different gadgets/equipments to carry
out appropriate checks. The growing trade involving food items is
pushing the demand for such devices. The different devices currently
in use are: GPS enabled PDAs (personal digital assistants), sensors
(such as chemical sensors), scanners (3D, 2Dand 1D), mobile printers,
thermal printers, durable tags and labels, and so on.
On
similar lines, there is different software available in the market,
which not only eases the complex functions, but also helps in data
processing and storage. Software such as ERP (enterprise resource
planning), QMS (quality management software), cloud computing, and so
on, are seeing rising applications and experiencing push for
customization, thereby driving the market growth. As a result many
players from different verticals are driven to the market.
Recently
IBM was partnered by N2N Global for using the food traceability
technology to ensure that food sourced from Cherry Central Co-Op Inc.
is handled in accordance with government and company standards. The
other renowned players in the market are Barcoding Inc., A2B Tracking
Solutions, Motorola Solutions, Inc., and some others.
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