ABSTRACT
Food-borne diseases are here to stay. However, a company can reduce the risk to its nancial resources and reputation by implementing an effective and efcient traceability system. From the loading dock, along the processing line, and through arrival at the nal destination, a traceability system can create a documented chain of accountability. This accountability can, in turn, inuence customer condence-whoever the customers may be along a product’s journey, from the origin to the end consumer. Ideally, a traceability system’s aggregate information is sufcient to trace back or track forward, thereby minimizing the negative effects of a product recall. By increasing the speed at which affected products are identied, minimizing the number (volume or count) of items affected, and accelerating the removal and recovery of the affected items along the supply chain, companies can mitigate the immediate crisis while gaining valuable information to help avoid future recall events.
