United Fresh is working towards a voluntary traceability system based on the worldwide GS1 framework that will fit both domestic and export purposes.
It began scoping, protocol drafting and discussions back in 2018 with a grant from the Sustainable Farming Fund in response to a growing number of international and domestic food scares.
Project director for United Fresh Anne-Marie Arts said most companies in the fresh produce supply chain have their own effective traceback systems but these may not speak to each other.
Likewise growers of fresh produce send their crates away with good information about type, time, place and grade only to have these overwritten by wholesalers and packhouses.
United Fresh describes this situation as good internal traceability but poor external traceability and it calls the industry’s goal interoperability.
Confusion over the differences between standards and technologies is also widespread, she said.
Food safety, environmental concerns and increasing awareness of health and wellness issues have led to increasing demands from consumers who want greater assurances about the provenance of their fruit and vegetables.
“Reliable traceability systems are no longer an optional extra in the produce industry, but a baseline requirement of increasing importance,” Arts said.
“Sophisticated shoppers as well as national food safety guidelines are providing strong impetus for the fresh produce industry to refine its systems.”
The fresh produce industry also faces the challenge of the last 10 metres for fruit and vegetables that are sold loose.
Because identification does not carry through to the single item any recall often results in all of a type of produce being taken off the shelves.
GS1 is a global standard provider already active with fast-moving consumer goods categories and beyond.
It is a not-for-profit, user-owned system in more than 100 countries.
United Fresh has between 90 and 100 members and growers are included within their own industry-good organisations like Horticulture New Zealand.
Growers, packers, wholesalers, marketers and retailers have been asked to comment on the work United Fresh and the project team has undertaken and offer feedback on how the draft guidelines can be further improved before its final version is published in 2021.
