While the EU is still stuck with the (in)famous "one step up, one step down" system, the US is moving fast to become the international leader in food traceability.

Sue Browning reports:

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) has introduced S. 425 to establish a national traceability system for all food under the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) jurisdiction. This proposed legislation would require, “a traceability system … for all stages of manufacturing, processing, packaging and distribution of food.” The bill further states that, “Electronic records identifying each prior sale, purchase, or trade of the food and its ingredients, and establishing that the food and its ingredients were grown, prepared, handled, manufactured, processed, distributed, shipped, warehoused, imported, and conveyed under conditions that ensure the safety of the food. The records should include an electronic statement with the date of, and the names and addresses of all parties to, each prior sale, purchase, or trade, and any other information as appropriate.”

See the full article here.

The idea behind one step up, one step down is fine. Businesses should be responsible for what they are doing and should organise themselves in order to ensure that black sheep are kept out of sight. However, that doesn't quite work that well, if the industry is not convinced of the value of traceability. Selling traceability as a food scare antidote didn't work and the term got burned.

One step up, one step down is not a robust system. If only one link in the chain fails, chances are that you are never going to find the rest of the chain. This is especially worrying because the "bad guys" are usually those who are not very interesting in book keeping either.

Complementing a one step up, one step down system with a (electronic) monitoring system, where only mandatory data is held and which is removed from the hands of non-essential government officials (especially the tax authority) is a much more robust system, which doesn't do anything when everything is fine, but jumps into life once there is indeed a problem.

Vietnam is thinking along those lines and we very much appreciate this modern approach to traceability. Europe will have to rethink its strategy unless in some future it wants to face export restrictions because of lacking traceability.