2025 Food Safety Summit Opening Workshop Tackles Traceability 'Next Steps'
Panelists at the "Traceability Next Steps" opening workshop of the 2025 Food Safety Summit (Photo credit: Food Safety Summit / Alexis Diaz)
The opening workshop of the 2025 Food Safety Summit focused on "Traceability Next Steps: Supply Chain Implementation." The industry compliance date for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) Final Food Traceability Rule, which falls under Section 204(d) of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), was recently postponed by 30 months from the original compliance date of January 20, 2026.
The workshop was moderated by Tim Jackson, FDA and Kathleen O'Donnell, Wegmans Food Markets. Panelists included Natasha Bangel, Taylor Farms; Patrick Guzzle, National Restaurant Association; Michael Lookup, Wegmans Food Markets; Hilary Thesmar, Ph.D., FMI—The Food Industry Association; Christopher Waldrop, M.P.H., FDA; Roberta Wagner, International Dairy Foods Association; Mike Williams, The Wendy's Company; and Rosalind Zils, Reckitt/Mead Johnson Nutrition.
To kick off the workshop, Amy Behm and Ryan Richard from GS1 led attendees through a traceability exercise using tomatoes, after sharing an overview of GS1 standards in the supply chain. They reviewed global location numbers (GLNs), critical tracking events (CTEs), key data elements (KDEs), global trade item numbers (GTINs), serial shipping container codes (SSCCs), and other elements. Throughout the exercise, the GS1 representatives presented poll questions to "quiz" attendees on the information presented.
The panelists representing food companies and trade associations next discussed how the revised compliance date for the Traceability Rule has affected their organizations. The 30-month delay, announced by FDA in March, has not been officially entered in the Federal Register, which has made some trade associations and food companies hesitant to press "pause" on their traceability efforts. Many have continued to prepare for the January 2026 date, regardless of the extension.
Michael Lookup noted that "not much has changed" at Wegmans as a result of the compliance delay, and the company continues to work with its supply partners to comply with traceability requirements. Natasha Bangel from Taylor Farms said, "What we're planning on doing with the additional time is working on reporting, and working with our customers" on meeting data requirements.
The panelists also discussed a number of other topics:
- How they have incorporated GS1 standards at their organizations
- How they are working with their suppliers to achieve traceability compliance throughout their supply chains
- How they are working with FDA to understand and implement traceability requirements and meet expectations for compliance
- The technologies, tools, and methods they are using to track and trace foods on the Food Traceability List (FTL)
- The roles of food safety culture and training in compliance with the Traceability Rule.
For the final hour of the workshop, Christopher Waldrop of FDA and Hilary Thesmar of FMI led attendees through an interactive activity to help them understand how to develop and implement a traceability plan and maintain traceability records.
The panelists also took questions throughout the three-hour workshop, which gave attendees the chance to clarify elements of the Traceability Rule and best practices for ensuring traceability and supply chain transparency.
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The workshop is available to watch on-demand here, along with other livestreamed sessions from the 2025 Summit, for one year.
The 2025 Food Safety Summit is taking place May 12–15 at the Donald E. Stevens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. Stay tuned for more onsite coverage!
