The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) and the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) recently released an issue paper that examines traceability fundamentals, including the development and use of various technologies to enhance food safety, source transparency, and consumer confidence. With increasing interest in food traceability around the globe and a focus on complying with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA's) Food Traceability Final Rule, the issue paper is intended as a foundational resource for stakeholders across industry, academia, government agencies, and trade associations.
The issue paper explores the technological infrastructure underlying food traceability platforms while touching on the history of those platforms, the current state of technology, ongoing U.S. food traceability initiatives, and the future of commercial scale deployment.