The traceability of a product is an essential process in the management of supply chains, as it allows tracking of every stage of a product’s life cycle. This system is particularly relevant in industries such as food and pharmaceuticals, where it is crucial to quickly identify any anomaly to minimize public health risks and maintain consumer confidence.
In this text, we explain what product traceability is, its types, its legal framework, and the steps to ensure its proper functioning.
Traceability refers to the recording system of the stages that make up the production and distribution process. This enables meticulous monitoring of each phase, from the reception of raw materials to the arrival of the product to the end consumer. As part of the supply chain, it requires a high level of precision to guarantee not only quality standards but also the safety of products (e.g., food industry).
In this sense, traceability allows the detection of defective or contaminated items, which is essential for the deployment of corrective and containment measures, such as product recalls at major points of sale. In fact, the methods applied in this system facilitate the identification of groups or batches where the issue is replicated. Having a defined procedure and structure, traceability positively impacts the minimization or elimination of potential negative consequences that could result from product consumption.
There are three types of product traceability, detailed below.
This type of traceability is also known as backward traceability and focuses on identifying the materials that make up the product that reached the end consumer. When is it necessary to use this method? It is very common in consumer industries, such as food, where speed and efficiency are required in responding to health alerts. The goal, in any case, is to detect the origin of the fault or issue.
Internal traceability deals with the actual production process within the company or factory. This means managing the most relevant aspects of the following stages: reception of raw materials, manufacturing, and preparation for distribution. But what is the importance of this type of traceability? Although savings and process optimization are key, this tracking aims to ensure product quality before commercialization.
Downstream or forward traceability seeks to understand the journey of the product from its exit from the company or factory to its consumption. The focus is on ensuring efficient distribution and sales, particularly in compliance with applicable standards and regulations. This type of traceability is also essential for recalling potentially defective or dangerous products. By knowing the supply chain, this process becomes easier, even for selective recalls.
Product traceability is governed by laws and regulations that vary depending on the country and industrial sector; in some cases, international regulations apply to the import or export of goods, as is the case in the European Union. These regulations establish minimum standards to ensure the transparency and integrity of the supply chain, as well as consumer safety.
It is also important to note that these regulations address the need for a risk management plan, especially when distributing food products that are susceptible to cross-contamination and other issues. As mentioned earlier, recording products throughout the entire supply chain facilitates decision-making, implementation of measures, and emergency responses. The most common action is product withdrawal from the market.
The EU, for instance, has TRACES, a platform that allows consultation and management of certification for both animal and non-animal origin products. Among its benefits for traders and consumers are administrative transparency, food and health safety, and improved cooperation and coordination with the EU member states.
In any case, companies are required to manage documentation, data, and other information about products in the event of audits, inspections, or judicial investigations.
These are the steps required to efficiently implement product traceability.
The first step for proper management of product traceability is the assignment of labels to raw materials. Commonly, barcodes, QR codes, or in the food industry, RFID labels are used. In fact, in this sector, EAN 12 and 128 codes are often applied.
However, this requires establishing criteria for grouping products, that is, creating batches. This is useful when products need to be recalled since not all batches have the same characteristics, reception dates, transformation dates, and so on.
It is essential to maintain a detailed record of batch information and transformation activities at each stage of production, as this facilitates the identification of raw materials associated with products. Likewise, batch numbers are also assigned to finished products. What other information is included here? Storage data, quantities processed, and any incidents are taken into account.
The automation of the labeling process is crucial for saving both time and resources while making product traceability a more efficient process. What is needed for this? The company must implement appropriate software to create and read labels. These technologies allow information to be collected automatically and in real time, improving not only storage but also product distribution.
It is also necessary to identify and record any variation or issue during the production and distribution of the product. Why is this useful? With detailed information, those responsible for analyzing and studying traceability can quickly find and verify the origin of the problem or failure. As a result, actions can be taken either to correct the issue or to withdraw the defective batch.
Finally, it is necessary to ensure that the traceability system meets both internal and external requirements (regulations, standards, certifications, etc.). This guarantees that all processes and records have been carried out properly and on time, enabling a rapid response to any product-related incident.
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