In an effort to achieve compliance with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Food Safety Modernization Act Section 204(d), also known as FSMA 204 or the Food Traceability Final Rule, the Kroger Co recently published a Food Traceability Policy and Requirements document, which outlines for suppliers the steps they must take to ensure interoperability with Kroger’s traceability system.

Although the Food Traceability Final Rule only applies to specific commodities listed on FDA’s Food Traceability List (FTL), Kroger intends to leverage GS1 standards to collect and record traceability information for all food products entering Kroger facilities. The retailer is also mandating a compliance date of June 30, 2025—six months sooner than FDA’s January 2026 compliance date for FSMA 204.

Kroger’s traceability policy requires suppliers to:

• Adhere to Kroger’s EDI 856 ASN guideline
• Transmit an EDI 856 ASN document for every shipment of products to any Kroger facilities
• Align logistic unit requirements to match Kroger track and trace supply chain receiving specifications
• Certify palletized barcode labels on physical products arriving at the receiving dock correspond to the EDI 856 ASN data transmission.