Expected results
The need for documented traceability in the fresh vegetable industry, covering the entire supply chain, is becoming a key issue these days. The food industry recognizes the importance of traceability as a key requirement for enhancing food safety.
In particular, the development of a fully documented traceability process will support the following:
- Implementation of controls that allow detection of the cause of the security problem.
- Immediate problem identification, immediate lot identification of problem products, and efficient recall of products actually affected by the problem.
Research by the GS1 Organization has shown that for 67% of US and EU food companies that had recall issues the cost exceeded $20 million, and that it took an average of 42 days to complete the recall process and – at best – while they were only able to identify 43% of problematic products.
The implementation of the traceability system will increase accountability throughout the supply chain for quality issues. Furthermore, given that vegetable exports in recent years have been consistently at high levels of over 200 thousand tons (source: https://trade.ec.europa.eu/), the implementation of innovative systems of traceability and facilitation of B2B relations will increase the value of products that are important for the Greek economy.