An improved traceability system for food quality assurance and evaluation based on fuzzy classification and neural network

Currently, the food safety incidents happened frequently in china and the customer confidence declined rapidly, then the problems related to food quality and safety have attracted more and more social attention. Considering the concern with regard to food quality assurance and consumer confidence improvement, many companies have developed a traceability system to visualize the supply chain and avoid food safety incidents. In this paper, we proposed an improved food traceability system which can not only achieve forward tracking and diverse tracing like the existing systems do, but also evaluate the food quality timely along the supply chain and provide consumers with these evaluating information, to mainly enhance the consumer experience and help firms gain the trust of consumers. For the food quality evaluation, the method of fuzzy classification was used to evaluate the food quality at each stages of supply chain while the artificial neural network was adopted to derive the final determination of the grade of food quality according to all the stage quality evaluations. A case study of a pork producer was conducted, and the results showed that the improved traceability system performed well in food quality assurance and evaluation. In addition, implications of the proposed approach were discussed, and suggestions for future work were outlined.     

Traceability in a food supply chain: Safety and quality perspectives

The food industry is becoming more customer-oriented and needs faster response times to deal with food scandals and incidents. Good traceability systems help to minimize the production and distribution of unsafe or poor quality products, thereby minimizing the potential for bad publicity, liability, and recalls. The current food labelling system cannot guarantee that the food is authentic, good quality and safe. Therefore, traceability is applied as a tool to assist in the assurance of food safety and quality as well as to achieve consumer confidence. This paper presents comprehensive information about traceability with regards to safety and quality in the food supply chain.     

An intelligent value stream-based approach to collaboration of food traceability cyber physical system by fog computing

Good advanced food traceability systems help to minimize unsafe or poor quality products in food supply chain through value-based process. From the emerging technologies forthcoming for industry automation, future advanced food traceability system must consider not only cyber physical system (CPS) and fog computing but also value-added business in food supply chain. Accordingly, this study presents a novel intelligent value stream-based food traceability cyber physical system approach integrated with enterprise architectures, EPCglobal and value stream mapping method by fog computing network for traceability collaborative efficiency. Furthermore, the proposed intelligent approach explores distributive and central traceable stream mechanism in assessing the most critical traceable events for tracking and tracing process. Successful case study, software system design and implementation demonstrated the performance of the proposed approach. Furthermore, experiment shows the better results obtained after the simulation execution for intelligent predictive algorithm.     

Autonomous tracing system for backward design in food supply chain

Food safety and quality issues generally occur due to incurring problem of food products handling processing. It led to a growing interest in developing systems for food supply chain traceability. At present, there are lacking in modeling the traceability process for developing “autonomous” traceability system in comparative to “automation” and little research has been conducted where the product problem information related to the cause of problem, the responsibility attribution simultaneously. This paper design the autonomous agent-based tracing system based on IoT (internet of things) architecture using FCM (fuzzy cognitive maps) and fuzzy rule method for product usage life cycle. The case study for agriculture food product is discussed. It aimed to simulating food tracing complex system with imprecise relationships while quantifying the performance impact of backward design process efficiency using the total effects algorithm.     

Indian perspective in food traceability: A review

India is the second largest producer of fruit and vegetables in the world. Fruit production in India has increased 89% in the last decade. In the present paper It is exposed the necessity for a proper traceability in the Indian food industry, because the sector is demanding an adequate system due to the precarious nature of existing supply chain, and to reduce the numerous cases of food safety incidents and fraudulence. This work also presents the existing traceability techniques in India which include RFID, Holograms, Barcode, Nuclear techniques and other tracking media to monitor production process. Furthermore it is revealed the initiatives implementation from APEDA and its association with GS1 India in the form of Anarnet, Peanut.net, Meat.net, and Grapenet for the Indian farming products, as well as several ICTs initiatives that are actively working in many states of India.However the development of an effective food traceability system is affected by a numbers of factors like restrictive government marketing standardization, insecure policies and unstable actions for food safety, underdeveloped and unorganized infrastructure in market area and the supply chains, from the farmers to non-existent cold chain facilities and small local stores, and inadequate agricultural practices with large number of small and medium industries and famers. Therefore an effective food traceability system is not only an important tool to manage food quality and safety risks, but also to promote the development of effective supply chain management in India.     

FMECA approach to product traceability in the food industry

The traceability system in the farming and food supply chain can be described as the documented identification of the operations which lead to the production and sale of a product. Its objective is to identify the actors involved and trace the relevant flows, precisely characterizing the material and processing or management operations that contribute to the production of the final items. The traceability system must be efficient and effective, accurately collecting the necessary information and enabling a rapid and correct reuse of this information.This paper presents an application of the industrial engineering tool ‘Failure Mode Effect and Criticality Analysis’ (FMECA) to the production process in the farming and food industries, as this tool is aimed at detecting the possible critical points of its traceability system (whether in use or undergoing implementation), and at proposing improvements.     

Reporting of traceability and food safety data in the culinary herb and spice chains

Reporting of information is crucial to enable backward and forward tracing of food along the chain, which is of main importance in case of non-compliance with legal obligations on food safety. Thus, food business operators in the European Union (EU) must enable tracing of any foodstuff one step forward and one step back. However, flux of information relevant for traceability and food safety can be a challenge in the supply chains of dried culinary herbs and spices.Results of a survey among herb/spice businesses – either located within the EU or exporting dried herbs/spices to the EU – showed the widespread use of electronic systems for recording and processing of traceability/food safety data. However, automated capture of transaction data and automated read-out/processing of reported data were rare. The survey indicates that besides electronic documents, typed paper documents are often exchanged between businesses. For data delivery along the chain, paper documents filled in by hand are still used – even in the EU or upon import to the EU. The document type as well as the forms varied, particularly in case of incoming herbs/spices. The forms used for reporting by the survey participants or by their suppliers covered mostly individual/company-specific forms. Standardised forms provided by herb/spice associations were rarely shared between these businesses. The extent of reporting of traceability data upon import to the EU and within the EU appears to be sufficient. Some additional traceability data that promote product tracing, such as the country of harvest, were frequently reported. Same was true for information on food safety hazards.     

Optimizing chocolate production through traceability: A review of the influence of farming practices on cocoa bean quality

Due to recent developments in traceability systems, it is now possible to exchange significant amounts of data through food supply chains. Farming practices applied by cocoa farmers at the beginning of the chocolate supply chain strongly influence several quality parameters of the finished chocolate. However, information regarding these practices does not normally reach the chocolate manufacturer. As a consequence, many specifications of the raw material cannot be taken into consideration in the operational decision making processes related to chocolate production. In recent years many studies have been investigating the influence of certain farming practices on cocoa beans and the subsequent chocolate quality parameters. However, no comprehensive analysis of the process variables in the chain and their effects on the quality can be found. In this paper we review and classify the available literature on the topic in terms of process variables throughout the chain, and their effects on quality and flavour aspects of cocoa beans and the eventual chocolate product. After analyzing the literature, we are able to identify potential benefits of using data regarding the farming practices into the chocolate production process. These potential benefits especially concern product quality and production yield, giving directions for the future of chocolate production.     

Development and evaluation on a RFID-based traceability system for cattle/beef quality safety in China

Beef has become a kind of important food in China because of its nutritional value perceived by consumers. With increasing consumers' awareness and governments' regulations on beef quality and safety, traceability is becoming a mandatory requirement in cattle/beef industry. This paper developed and evaluated a cattle/beef traceability system that integrated RFID technology with PDA and barcode printer. The system requirements, the business flow of the cattle/beef chain, and the key traceability information for the system were identified through a survey. Then a conceptual model was proposed to describe the process of traceability information acquisition, transformation and transmission along the supply chain. Finally, the system was evaluated and optimized in the sampled supply chain.The results show that the major benefits gained from the RFID-enabled traceability system are the real-time and accurate data acquisition and transmission, and the high efficiency of information tracking and tracing across the cattle/beef supply chain; the main barriers for implementing the system are the inapplicable method of inputting information, the inefficient sequence of data input and communication mechanism associated with RFID reader, and the high implementation cost.     

Validity of method for analysing critical traceability points

The requirements for documenting food products are even increasing. Better documentation can be achieved by using traceability. Several studies mapping Critical Traceability Points (CTP) in food supply chains have been carried out.The purpose of this paper was to discuss the validity of qualitative methods for detecting CTPs in a seafood supply chain. Data from a single case study is interesting, because it provides real industry data, which can be used to develop knowledge of and theories on traceability to improve food process systems. The discussion of validity can in addition be used as input for studies aiming to identify the CTPs of other food supply chains.     

Applying evolutionary prototyping model for eliciting system requirement of meat traceability at agribusiness level

Traceability has become an effective method of ensuring food safety and connecting stakeholders in the food chain. There is an increasing growth trend in developing IT-based traceability system in recent years. But implementing hastily traceability system is likely to fail to achieve its goal if the system requirement has not been well-defined according to the changing business environment. This paper adopted an evolutionary prototyping model and used longitudinal case study to elicit the traceability system requirement at the level of agribusiness. The results show that a traceability system can support not only information tracking at operational level, but also diagnostic analysis and strategic decision making at managerial level, Hence, system requirements can be categorized as fundamental, decisive and strategic levels. The evolutionary prototyping model can improve the effectiveness of requirement elicitation.     

Food safety standards and international supply chain organization: A case study of the Moroccan fruit and vegetable exports

This paper addresses the issue of international food supply chain organization faced to food safety standards. The case of Moroccan fruit and vegetable supply chain is taken as an example. The dynamics of Moroccan food safety legislation and regulatory systems and the measures taken to facilitate export ex-ante compliance capacity with target market requirements are analysed. The results of a direct survey on producers/exporters in the Souss Massa Region are presented. Operators are classified according to the typology of vertical linkages in producers/exporters, pure exporters, and cooperatives. The relations among the typology of operators, targets markets, prevailing modes for food safety governance, and compliance costs and benefits with food safety standards are discussed.     

Seafood safety and quality: An analysis of the supply chain in the Sultanate of Oman

The globalization of trade in fish has created many challenges for the developing world specifically with regard to food safety and quality. International organisations have established a good basis for standards in international trade. Whilst these requirements are frequently embraced by the major importers (such as Japan, the EU and the USA), they often impose additional safety requirements and regularly identify batches which fail to meet their strict standards. Creating an effective national seafood control system which meets both the internal national needs as well the requirements for the export market can be challenging. Many countries adopt a dual system where seafood products for the major export markets are subject to tight control whilst the majority of the products (whether for the local market or for more regional trade) are less tightly controlled. With regional liberalization also occurring, deciding on appropriate controls is complex. In the Sultanate of Oman, fisheries production is one of the countries' chief sources of economic revenue after oil production and is a major source of the national food supply. In this paper the structure of the fish supply chain has been analysed and highlighted the different routes operating for the different markets. Although much of the fish are consumed within Oman, there is a major export trade to the local regional markets. Much smaller quantities meet the more stringent standards imposed by the major importing countries and exports to these are limited. The paper has considered the development of the Omani fish control system including the key legislative documents and the administrative structures that have been developed. Establishing modern controls which satisfy the demands of the major importers is possible but places additional costs on businesses. Enhanced controls such as HACCP and other management standards are required but can be difficult to justify when alternative markets do not specify these. These enhanced controls do however provide additional consumer protection and can bring benefits to local consumers. The Omani government is attempting to upgrade the system of controls and has made tremendous progress toward the implementation of HACCP and introducing enhanced management systems into its industrial sector. The existence of strengthened legislative and government support, including subsidies, has encouraged some businesses to implement HACCP. The current control systems have been reviewed and an SWOT analysis approach used to identify key factors for their future development. The study shows that seafood products in the supply chain are often exposed to lengthy handling and distribution process before reaching the consumers, a typical issue faced by many developing countries. As seafood products are often perishable, they safety is compromised if not adequately controlled. The enforcement of current food safety laws in the Sultanate of Oman is shared across various government agencies. Consequently, there is a need to harmonize all regulatory requirements, enhancing the domestic food protection and to continue to work towards a fully risk-based approach in order to compete successfully in the global market.     

Food safety and transparency in food chains and networks Relationships and challenges

European consumers are worried about the safety of their food. These concerns are caused by a continuing sequence of food scandals and incidents during the last decade. In response, consumers call for high quality food, food integrity, safety guarantees and transparency. Governments are imposing new legislation. Retailers are imposing new demands on their supply chains. Food supply chains react by implementing systems to improve the product's quality and guarantee its safety, at the same time making transparent that they do so. Such actions can be taken at the level of either the individual company or the complete network of supply chains. We describe the challenges involved in achieving food safety and transparency by cooperating in the supply chain network. To this end, we elaborate on a real world case in an SME environment.     

Food safety pre-warning system based on data mining for a sustainable food supply chain

In recent years, the food safety incidents happened frequently in china, and then the problems related to food quality and safety have attracted more and more social attention. Considering the concern with regard to quality sustainability in food supply chain, many companies have developed a real time data monitoring system to ensure products quality in the supply chain network. In this paper, we proposed a food safety pre-warning system, adopting association rule mining and Internet of Things technology, to timely monitor all the detection data of the whole supply chain and automatically pre-warn. The aim of pre-warning system is to help managers in food manufacturing firm to find food safety risk in advance, and to give some decision support information to maintain the quality and safety of food products. A case study of a dairy producer was conducted, and the results showed that the proposed pre-warning system can effectively identify safety risks and accurately determine whether a warning should be issued, depending on the expert analysis when an abnormality is detected by the system. In addition, implications of the proposed approach were discussed, and suggestions for future work were outlined.     

Strengths and limitations on the operating mechanisms of traceability system in agro food,China

Traceability system can effectively trace food quality and reduce safety scares. Recent researches on traceability systems in China focus on technology innovation, traceability system management, and determinants of traceability system implementation. This paper proposes four criteria to analyze strengths and limitations of the operating mechanisms. The result shows the operating mechanism of traceability system in Chinese agribusiness can be classified into three categories and none of operating mechanism of traceability system completely meets the agribusiness traceability service requirement, and each of the three operating mechanisms has its own strengths and limitations. It is suggested that an integrated mechanism is needed to implement traceability system in agribusiness.     

Implementation of food safety management systems in the UK

This paper reports the first stage of work being undertaken to understand the factors that have impacted on the current state of food safety in the UK food manufacturing sector. The paper first explores developments in international food safety regulation in general and in particular, the UK. Using a survey and case study methodology, the paper examines the response of food manufacturing enterprises to food safety regulation, and uses statistical techniques to investigate the effects of enterprise size on the drivers for, benefits of, and challenges to compliance. Further, the factors that influence the successful implementation of an integrated food safety management system are also examined. The results show a great deal of both statutory and private regulation that has incentivised enterprises. In response, enterprises have implemented integrated food safety management systems to proactively deal with the risks associated with food safety, however, enterprises claim that statutory regulations are biased towards consumers, without adequate impact assessments on all stakeholders within the chain, and hence causing industry to incur significant costs that could otherwise be avoided. Even though compliance with food safety regulation is burdensome, the cost of non-compliance will also be significant to enterprises. The findings also show that there is no significant effect of size of enterprise on the drivers, benefits and challenges to compliance with food safety regulation.     

Implementation of traceability and food safety systems (HACCP) under the ISO 22000:2005 standard in North Africa: The case study of an ice cream company in Algeria

Our study aims at establishing and implementing the HACCP and traceability system, in an integrated approach, of ice cream processing in order to control food borne safety hazards, to minimize the production and distribution of unsafe or poor quality products, thereby the potential food safety risks and associated food recalls. Internal information capture points were identified in ice cream process and the corresponding traceability information to be recorded were determined. Biological, physical, chemical and allergens hazards that could emerge at each stage of the production were identified. After hazards identification, the critical control points (CCPs) and operational prerequisites programs (oPRPs) were selected using a decision tree. Results showed that cleaning-in-place, filtration, pasteurization, cooling storage and transport stages were the critical control points identified. Critical limits, monitoring methods and frequency, responsibilities and corrective actions of the processes are also presented. Finally, the impact of implementation of food safety system (HACCP) on aerobic plate count (APC) and coliforms in vanilla, strawberry and chocolate flavoured ice cream was investigated. The results of HACCP adoption showed the reduction of APC in all flavours of the ice cream samples tested, being higher for the strawberry from 4.18 ± 3.03 till 3.80 ± 2.71 log CFU/g. Besides, a significant decrease of coliforms from 2.39 ± 1.76 till 2.11 ± 1.42 and 2.54 ± 1.62 till 2.02 ± 1.15 log CFU/g was observed in ice cream samples with a chocolate and strawberry flavour, respectively. In conclusion, the implementation of traceability and HACCP system, under the ISO 22000 standard has allowed tracking and tracing of ice cream products improving the microbiological quality of the ice creams.     

A model and prototype implementation for tracking and tracing agricultural batch products along the food chain

There is an increasing demand of traceability in the food chain, statutory requirements are growing stricter and there is increasing pressure to develop standardized traceability systems. Each event in the chain, like production of transportation, packing, distribution or processing results in a different product which can have its own information associated within the tracing system. From the raw material to the sale of goods, more and more information needs to be gathered and made available. Supplementary information may also be collected at any step, in order to provide data for analysis and optimization of production practices.Using web-based systems for data processing, storage and transfer makes possible a flexible way of information access, networking and usability. In this paper an architectural proposal is presented and the proposed solution is tested by the implementation of a prototype. The software architecture presented makes use of a series of standards than offer new possibilities in traceability control and management. For testing the prototype, information from precision farming together with the information recorded during the transport and delivery was used. The system enables full traceability and it complies with all existing traceability standards.     

On the linkages between traceability levels and expected and actual traceability costs and benefits in the Italian fishery supply chain

EC Regulation 178/2002 introduced mandatory traceability for all food operators, but they can choose the level of traceability. We propose a model incorporating three indices of traceability – breadth, depth and precision – that affect costs and benefits. We empirically test the model by regression analyses, using data collected on a sample of Italian fish processors. While higher precision corresponds with larger perceived benefits, an increasing traceability breadth raises costs. A measure of the extent of the discrepancy between expected and actual costs and benefits is also established. Implications are discussed in light of future uptake of continuously advancing traceability technologies.