Air Products, a leading supplier of gas based equipment and technology for the food industry, has teamed up with Traceall Ltd to introduce an innovative online traceability solution, which can be tailored to specific food process lines.
The new active management system is designed to help Air Products Freshline customers manage new food traceability requirements to comply with legislation introduced at the start of 2005. European regulation EU 198/2002 became law in the UK as part of the Food Act 2005. The legislation is designed to provide consumers and retailers with valuable information on what ingredients are used, where the ingredients came from and to which customers the food will be supplied.
This means that all food ingredients now have to be traced back and forwards through the supply chain. To help businesses operating at all stages of food production, from farming through to distribution, Air Products has teamed up with leading specialist software supplier Traceall to deliver new web-based services on traceability and data management, including cold chain integrity and fish farm monitoring.
By tracing and following a food through all stages of production, from processing through to distribution, it makes it easier to identify and recall products if they contain impurities, or provide information on whether ingredients are GM free, organic. This increased supply chain visibility is currently proving valuable for many manufacturers and retailers as they manage the recall of foods contaminated with Sudan 1 dye.
John Summer, European Food Business Manager at Air Products, said:
This contamination highlights the vulnerability of the supplier relationship and the importance of an effective, integrated traceability system through the total supply chain. But such systems are capable of much more than this. They can bring production and added-value benefits too.
As well as increasing transparency in the supply chain, food manufacturers and processors are often able to use the data to better manage production or to increase productivity. For example, by using traceability systems to monitor fishing locations and times, a fish processor is able to increase yields, shelf-life and optimise production.
A strong risk-management tool for the whole industry the new Freshline traceability and data management service enables remote real-time data, collected from anywhere, such as fishing vessel or farm, to be transmitted via satellite or mobile phone networks almost instantaneously, worldwide, direct to your desktop. The data gathered can be compiled into bespoke online reports which can be integrated with existing systems and viewed.
Through a unique partnership with Traceall, Air Products can supply customers with the required software end-user licence and data collection equipment. Customers can then subscribe to the web-based service and begin gathering all their data.
Traceall has developed and operates systems for encrypted data collection via mobile phone and GPS satellite networks. As well as providing web-based traceability services to the seafood sector Traceall is also working on several EU sponsored programmes to develop new traceability solutions for the future.
John Summers comments: This is an extremely important addition to our Freshline food portfolio. This well-proven technology will provide customers with everything they need to comply with the new legislation, wherever they are in the food supply chain.
Alan Steele, director at Traceall Ltd: added: We are focussed on providing innovative traceability solutions for the food industry and our ability to deliver total traceability, quality and management solutions has led us to get involved in EU projects and the private sector. This experience means we are well placed to be the ideal partner to deliver the kind of bespoke quality services Air Products demands for its customers.
Add a Comment
No messages on this article yet