Salt Lake City, Utah-based ReposiTrak has created a no-scan Key Data Element (KDE) record, which it bills as a breakthrough to revolutionize the advancement toward tech-enabled food traceability as defined by the FDA’s FSMA Section 204(d) regulation.
“This is a major milestone for the industry and proves that FSMA 204 compliance is in fact achievable,” said Randy Fields, chairman and CEO.
“It wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work and collaboration between our development and implementation teams, and the retailers and suppliers who saw the opportunity to move fast toward FSMA 204 compliance.”
The automated traceability landmark is the first time KDE information was passed from a supplier to a distribution center without the need for additional scanning steps, hardware or software – a key point of difference for the ReposiTrak Traceability Network.
Other traceability solutions depend on physical labeling or RFID tags to transfer information as a product moves through the supply chain.
Built upon the company’s supply chain collaboration platform, the ReposiTrak Traceability Network enables the seamless exchange of even fragmented KDE information for any food product, including those on FDA’s Food Traceability List.
Once enrolled in ReposiTrak, food supply chain companies can exchange KDE data in any format and also retrieve that information at any time, from anywhere, by way of a dashboard. The solution also enables these food traceability records to be exported in a sortable spreadsheet, a major requirement of FDA’s FSMA 204 regulation.
“Traceability isn’t new to us. What’s new is that traceability is now the law,” Fields said.
“ReposiTrak has been exchanging and storing granular food supply chain information for more than 20 years. Beyond the technology, however, you also gain access to our team, who knows the industry and appreciates the intricacies of each impacted company and will help you through the process.”
FSMA 204 requires companies that manufacture, process, pack or hold foods on the FTL to establish and maintain KDE records for specific tracking events in a product’s journey through the supply chain. As that product changes hands or form, a string of data must be transferred between trading partners to provide full, end-to-end traceability.
Other solutions require the use of additional labeling and scanning steps or outdated data capture methods that fail to assemble KDEs per the FDA’s requirement.
The ReposiTrak Traceability Network does not require new hardware or software and has been backed by the industry as a low-cost, easiest-to-adopt solution for FSMA 204 compliance. More than 8 percent of retail grocery stores, 1,100 suppliers and 20 distribution centers have joined.
