Part 2

It is relevant for traceability systems to have a common structure for information exchange. Without it, these systems lose much of their utility as they will only be usable internally and will have reduced capacity to add value to products and manage recalls. Based on extensive literature review, a non-proprietary framework for traceability was developed. This framework encompasses whole food supply chains and aims to maintain records of quality and safety while not necessitating mature IT capabilities, uncommon characteristic of SME’s. As such the volume of information is divided between all stakeholders according to their necessities and funding capacities. Most of the information is stored by regulators as they have access to more funding. This improves the ease and flexibility of implementation of traceability systems by the companies. Tools were developed and simulated, and all results are presented, clearly demonstrating the capability for quality information sharing through food supply chains which in turn can increase transparency between consumers and producers as well as adjusting the quality to the desired end use.This study is within the activities of project PrunusPós—Otimização de processos de armazenamento, conservação em frio, embalamento ativo e/ou inteligente, e rastreabilidade da qualidade alimentar no póscolheita de produtos frutícolas (Optimization of processes of storage, cold conservation, active and/or intelligent packaging, and traceability of food quality in the postharvest of fruit products), Operation n.º PDR2020-101-031695 (Partner), Consortium n.º 87, Initiative n.º 175 promoted by PDR2020 and co-financed by FEADER under the Portugal 2020 initiative.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Part 1

Traceability can be a tool for safety and quality assurance for food perishables as well as for process optimization and economic gain. However, it is often considered mere bureaucracy and an economic burden. Such is prevalent in small and medium-sized enterprises. As they constitute most of food sector, the adoption of traceability systems is quite slow and mostly to satisfy legal requirements. To determine the main advantages and disadvantages of traceability models, implementation and technologies, a literature review and Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) focused analysis was performed in the part I of this study. In Part II, a low cost open-source traceability focused on food safety and quality is developed. It is based on HACCP flowcharts to define gateways for quality evaluation and encompasses external verification and product history maintenance. Economic gains, more quality and safety, better efficiency and a more direct contact with consumers are some of the main advantages. High implementation costs, poorly defined benefits, lack of compatibility, consumer focused perspective and exposure of sensitive information are some of the main issues. This study serves to expose these issues and suggest solutions, aiming to encourage the adoption of traceability systems, with last-end benefits to producers, retailers, and consumers.This study is within the activities of project PrunusPós—Otimização de processos de armazenamento, conservação em frio, embalamento ativo e/ou inteligente, e rastreabilidade da qualidade alimentar no póscolheita de produtos frutícolas (Optimization of processes of storage, cold conservation, active and/or intelligent packaging, and traceability of food quality in the postharvest of fruit products), Operation n.º PDR2020-101-031695 (Partner), Consortium n.º 87, Initiative n.º 175 promoted by PDR2020 and co-financed by FEADER under the Portugal 2020 initiative.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Safety and quality based traceability system for food supply chains

The onset of new technologies and new procedures for food production has reduced the familiarity and capability of consumers to discern the quality of products bought, as well as being unable to verify if all health and safety regulations were complied with. Traceability can be a tool for safety and quality assurance for perishable food as well as for process optimization and economic gain. However, it is often considered mere bureaucracy and an economic burden. Such is prevalent in micro and small-sized (MSE) enterprises. As they constitute most of food sector, the adoption of traceability systems is quite slow and mostly to satisfy legal requirements. In order to determine the main advantages and disadvantages of traceability models, implementation and technologies, a literature review and MSE focused analysis was performed. Economic gains, more quality and safety, better efficiency and a more direct contact with consumers are some of the main advantages. High implementation costs, poorly defined benefits, lack of compatibility, consumer focused perspective and exposure of sensitive information are some of the main issues. With the result of that analysis, a an open-source traceability framework was developed. The framework includes an external communication model and is accompanied by software capable of fulfilling all tasks required for quality assurance both internally and externally. It encompasses whole food supply chains and maintains records of quality and safety while not necessitating mature IT capabilities, uncommon characteristic of MSE’s. It is imperative for traceability systems to have a common structure for information exchange. Without it, these systems lose much of their utility as they will only be usable internally and will have reduced capacity to add value to products and manage recalls. It is also imperative to develop this type of framework by focusing it on existing resources such as HACCP flowcharts to define gateways for quality evaluation. With that in mind, the volume of information is divided between all stakeholders according to their necessities and funding capacities. Most of the information is stored by regulators as they have access to more funding. This improves the ease and flexibility of implementation of traceability systems by the companies. Using all developed tools an hypothetical food supply chain was simulated. The objective of this simulation was to observe all quality variations and capacity to transmit information. It was verified that the developed system was able to evaluate quality throughout an entire chain and to effectively communicate all necessary information.O surgimento de novas tecnologias e novos processos tem reduzido a familiaridade e capacidade dos consumidores em discernir a qualidade dos produtos adquiridos bem como a capacidade de verificar se todas as regras de higiene e segurança foram cumpridas. A rastreabilidade pode ser uma ferramenta capaz de assegurar a segurança e a qualidade de alimentos perecíveis bem como otimização de processos e ganho económico. Ainda assim, é regularmente considerada uma mera burocracia e um fardo económico, princiapalmente pelas micro, pequenas e médias empresas (PME). No entanto, estas constituem a maior parte do sector alimentar e uma vez que a rastreabilidade não é desejada para além do cumprimento de requisitos legais, a adopção de sistemas de rastreabilidade tem sido bastante lenta. De modo a determinar as maiores vantagens e desvantagens dos modelos de rastreabilidade, implementação e tecnologia, foi efectuada uma revisão de literature com crítica focada nas PME. Ganho económico, mais qualidade e segurança, maior eficiência e um contacto mais próximo com os consumidores são algumas das principais vantagens. Elevados custos de implementação, vantagens nem sempre tangíveis e fracamente definidas, falta de compatibilidade, perspectiva focada no consumidor e exposição de informação sensível são algumas das principais desvantagens. Com o resultado desta análise, foi desenvolvida uma estrutra open-source para sistemas de rastreabilidade. Esta estrutura inclui um modelo de comunicação externa e é acompanhada de software capaz de cumprir todas as tarefas requiridas para a garantia de qualidade tanto interna como externamente. Abrange cadeias de abastecimento alimentar inteiras e mantém registos de qualidade e segurança sem necessidade de elevada capacidade em tecnologias de informação, característica incomum das PME. É imperativo que os sistemas de rastreabilidade tenham uma estrutura de troca de informação comum. Sem a mesma, estes sistems perdem muita da sua utilidade pois apenas seriam usados para propósitos internos e isso significa que teriam uma maior dificuldade em auxiliar recolhas de produto impróprio e em adicionar valor aos produtos. É também imperativo que este tipo de estrutura seja desenvolvida com foco em recursos existentes tais como os fluxogramas do sistema HACCP como meio de segmentação de processos e avaliação de qualidade. Com isso em mente, o volume de informação é divido por todas partes de acordo com as suas necessidades e capacidades de financiamento. A maior parte da informação é mantida pelos reguladores devido à sua maior facilidade de acesso a fundos. Isto aumenta a facilidade e flexibilidade de implementação de sistemas de rastreabilidade por parte das empresas. Utilizando todas as ferramentas desenvolvidas foi efectuada uma simulação duma cadeia alimentar hipotética com objetivo de observar todas as variações de qualidade e a capacidade de transmissão de informação. Verfificou-se que o sistema é capaz de avaliar a qualiade e trasnmitir eficazmente toda a informação necessária