Benefits of Traceability
for Agriculture
The term "traceability" is becoming better known
in all agriculture sectors in Ontario. After recent outbreaks of
food borne illness, many farms are looking into traceability systems.
Why? The immediate benefit is being able to track or recall products
quickly and easily during a crisis. But Ontario producers are realizing
this is not the only reason to put a traceability system in place.
Ontario farms with traceability
systems report these top seven benefits:
- Improves
production efficiency
- Decreases
labour requirements
- Decreases
costs
- Improves
inventory control
- Verifies
product claims
- Improves
food safety
- Other benefits
1.
Improves production efficiency
Different farms will see different efficiencies
depending on the product, production steps involved and the type of traceability
system implemented. For example, the use of traceability and management software:
- reduces paperwork load
- speeds up data entry and tracking of production/labour
activities in real-time
- shortens time to identify problem areas or under-performing
products
- streamlines how information is collected and managed during production
- avoiding mistakes in data entry
- makes it possible to find product information
and generate production reports quickly for customers or emergency purposes
- improves
production flow
These benefits have been realized on Ontario farms
that use well kept and organized paper-based systems as well.
2.
Decreases labour requirements
Automated systems (e.g. use of a computer,
labeller) can:
- reduce a worker's time to perform a task or the time
needed to complete paperwork
- help streamline production steps by eliminating
the need for hand work such as counting inventory or tracking first in, first
out lots of products
- increase worker safety when using equipment as part
of a traceability system that improves handling and packaging steps
3.
Decreases costs (reduced inventory, reduced waste)
Traceability systems:
- improve inventory control. You only buy what you need and have less unused
material in storage.
- help reduce costly waste. Example: having medicines
expire before they can be used or chemicals that lose their effectiveness from
long-term storage.
4.
Improves inventory control
By tracking inputs when you buy and use them,
your operation can:
- avoid overstocking or running out of materials
needed for production
- improve communication with suppliers by tracking
problem inputs by the date purchased, quantity and lot number used
- track
and recall problems with specific lots or harvests quickly. This can help you
avoid damaging a reputation for quality with your buyer and customers.
5.
Verifies product claims
A traceability system helps to verify claims on
your products if you are:
- certified organic, or
- your products
serve a niche market (e.g. heirloom vegetable, corn-fed beef)
How?
By tracing the inputs and production method used through accurate records.
6.
Improves food safety
Traceability systems can help capture the information
required by a food safety program or buyer criteria. Examples:
- recording
the lot number of the product used on a production record, such as applying chemicals
to fields
- tracking medicines used in animals
If there is a
food safety issue, an effective traceability system provides a link to receiving
records as to when, how much and from where the product was received. Having these
records is crucial in a crisis where records must be used to investigate a potential
problem or track inputs or products involved in a recall.
7.
Other benefits
Traceability systems have helped increase morale on farms.
The systems engage workers in collecting data and using time and labour-saving
equipment. The systems can also:
- boost customer confidence in your
products
- establish your reputation as being on the cutting edge of your
industry
Getting started
You might be surprised to learn that
the day-to-day information you are already collecting is part of a traceability
system. This includes data from:
- invoices
- purchase orders
- accounting
programs
- production records
To move forward,
next steps include:
- identifying any gaps in collecting the
right information at each production step
- deciding how to put a system
in place to address these gaps and realize some of the benefits above
Learn
more
To learn more about how to implement an effective traceability system
for your operation, call or email for more resources and workshop opportunities.
