How important is it to track food from a health point of view?

Food safety/health has become a major challenge for countries in the last decade. Access to sufficient quantities of safe food, i.e. the food safety, is increasingly intrinsically associated with food safety. And this, in turn, depends on quality management and traceability systems.

The recommendation for food traceability is also associated with environmental issues. For example, the European Union (EU) has a strategy Farm-to-Fork (F2F), or “from farm to fork” (free translation), which requires Brazil to trace its food in order to access the demanding European market. F2F is part of the European climate change mitigation plan, the European Green Deal. 

Therefore, the reasons why governments and companies are interested in food traceability involve health, environmental, credibility and guarantee of origin aspects. It is known that these trade requirements, once met by industries, can create competitive advantages over competitors, differentiate the company's image in the eyes of consumers, and strengthen relationships with suppliers. Here we focus on the issue of food safety.  

The burden of foodborne diseases and associated deaths is an international concern. Unsafe foods containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemicals cause more than 200 illnesses, ranging from diarrhea to cancer. An estimated 600 million people – nearly 1 in 10 people worldwide – fall ill each year after eating contaminated food, and 420.000 people die. 

However, US$110 billion is lost each year in productivity and medical expenses due to unsafe food in low- and middle-income countries. In this sense, foodborne diseases hinder socioeconomic development, overburdening health systems and damaging economies.

Food quality risk control involves all links in a agro-industrial production chain (CPA), as risk events can be caused at any connection. As CPA connections expand globally and food distribution operations require greater distances, food safety control requires more attention from governments, businesses and consumers. 

It is important to note that food safety incidents not only result in harm to consumers’ health, but also pose threats to brands and can drastically undermine consumer confidence in the safety and quality of their products. Therefore, not only the industry, but governments need to be able to ensure that food production complies with current legislation. 

In this sense, authorities in several countries have also begun to adopt measures aimed at minimizing the risks of food contamination through the creation of standards and regulations by specific bodies. These regulations require that food safety information be described on product labels using identification numbers that can be traced throughout their entire life cycle. Lifecycle. Figure 1 illustrates a food traceability label with an alphanumeric code and QR-Code.

Figure 1 – Label for food traceability

Source: Paripassu, 2023.

There is also the example of the EU's TRACES (Trade Control and Expert System), an online platform created to comply with administrative procedures and send information for the traceability of agricultural products imported by the bloc. In other words, it is an electronic sanitary and phytosanitary certification required for food imports and which facilitates control by the health authority of each country.

Traceability systems allow the identification of possible causes of problems and the extent of certain impacts, allowing rapid containment actions via, for example, recalls on industrialized products, or disposal of products. Furthermore, with the development of information technology as blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI) e internet of things (IoT), traceability systems can carry product data throughout their life cycles, thus alleviating consumer concerns by providing information on food safety and quality throughout the CPA.

From a food safety perspective, it is necessary to implement tracking systems combined with quality assurance procedures such as Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), in order to minimize the chances of food contamination and quickly identify any sources of contaminants. HACCP is a scientific method used to identify, evaluate and monitor hazards and estimate risks, and organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO/FAO) Committee on Nutrition agree that HACCP can ensure that the safety management system is more effective.

The practical implementation of HACCP in the food industry is usually a structured task that demands a lot of effort. It consists of daily work, which complies with the standards and regulatory requirements at all times and at all stages of the CPA. HACCP is based on the application of seven basic principles (Brazil, 2021):

i) Identify and assess hazards; ii) Determine critical control points; iii) Establish critical limits; iv) Establish monitoring procedures; v) Establish corrective actions to be taken; vi) Establish verification procedures; vii) Establish recording procedures. 

The use of a HACCP-based system reduces the possibility of product contamination due to its preventive approach and therefore must be ensured by the involvement and commitment of all employees in the constant search for improvements. In this sense, food safety must be a mutual concern of government, industry and consumers and requires coordination of quality assurance systems and processes with the CPAs. 

Finally, communication between stakeholders is essential for traceability to be achieved. This can be done using the technology contained in the various existing traceability systems. In general, better information flow between stakeholders improves knowledge of the critical points of quality and health in food production and distribution, and consequently generates greater and better control, reducing breakage and breakage indicators at each stage of the CPAs.

References and recommended readings:

Awuchi, CG HACCP, quality, and food safety management in food and agricultural systems. Food & Agriculture 2023, 9, 2176280.

Brazil, 2022. What is the HACCP System.

WHO – World Health Organization. Food Safety, 2022.

Ma, B.; Han, Y.; Cui, S.; Geng, Z., Li H.; Chu C. Risk early warning and control of food safety based on an improved analytic hierarchy process integrating quality control analysis method. Food Control 2010, 108 (7), 106824. 

Matzembacher, DE, Stangherlin, ID, Slongo, LA, Cataldi, R. An integration of traceability elements and their impact in consumer's trust. Food Control, 2018, 92, 420–429. 

Okpala, COR; Korzeniowska, M. Understanding the Relevance of Quality Management in Agro-food Product Industry: From Ethical Considerations to Assuring Food Hygiene Quality Safety Standards and Its Associated Processes (Review). Food Reviews International, 2021. (Open Access)

Stein, C. Food Traceability: Everything You Need to Know. 2021.

Tao, Q.; Cai, Z.; Cui X. A technological quality control system for rice supply chain. Food Energy Security. 2023;12:e382. 

Walker, GS Food authentication and traceability: An Asian and Australian perspective. Food Control, 2017, 72, 168–172. 

Awuchi, CG HACCP, quality, and food safety management in food and agricultural systems. Food & Agriculture 2023, 9, 2176280.

Leonelli, FCV, Toledo, JC de. Traceability in agro-industrial chains: concepts and applications. Embrapa Agricultural Instrumentation. Technical Circular, 33. São Carlos, SP: Embrapa Agricultural Instrumentation, 2006.7p.

Rocha, CX da SS, César, A. da S., Hernández, CT, Oliveira, UR de, Lizarelli, FL Analysis and Selection of Glass Bottle Traceability Technologies in the Beer Production Chain. International Journal Productivity and Quality Management, 2023. In press.

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