Due to globalisation, the new technological developments and the complexity of food
supply processes, the European food sector is increasingly becoming more complex. The consumers’
trust in food, triggered and affected by a number of food crises, is low. Today, consumers increasingly
expect safe and high quality food and demand information about the origin of their food. Also, the
economic health of the food industry can be greatly affected by food crises; therefore, efficient and
effective mechanisms are required to assist the food industry in tracking and tracing products along the
food chain. In this paper, we discuss the criteria for an efficient and effective traceability system from
an IT perspective (mainly data exchange) and we identify key requirements for ICT enabled
traceability
