PTI/FYI e-news Quarter 4 2014 – The Produce Traceability Initiative

For more information, contact Jane Proctor at CPMA, Angela Fernandez at GS1 US, Ed Treacy at PMA and Dan Vaché at United Fresh

In This Update

PTI Leadership Council Welcomes New Members

The PTI Leadership Council (LC) welcomed two new members at its last meeting held in October. Peter A. Hill from Alpine Fresh, Inc. and David Best from Duda & Sons, Inc. have joined the LC to add their expertise and perspectives to help drive momentum for further industry implementations of case-level traceability.

“The Produce Traceability Initiative is an investment in the future of the produce industry,” said Peter A. Hill. “I believe that being part of the Leadership Council is a proactive way of bringing our leaders together to collaborate in a positive and empowering manner. I am going to take this opportunity to get fully involved to motivate the industry while at the same time inspire our colleagues to envision the future in a way that knows no limits. I look forward to serving in 2015 and for many years to come.”

“Duda has been one of the leaders in PTI since its inception,” said David Best. “I am very excited to participate as a member of the Leadership Council, which is a critical driving force for this initiative. I look forward to working with the members of the Council and the various PTI working groups to assist in realizing the goal of full implementation for PTI. This will greatly enhance the industry’s ability to realize a fast and effective trace back process when the need arises.”

In other news, the PTI Implementation Working Group is working closely with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to share implementation updates and learnings in anticipation of proposed traceability rules under the Food Safety and Modernization Act.

Foodservice Operators Welcome Enhanced Traceability with GS1-128 Barcodes

Many foodservice operators are also interested in enhancing product traceability to address not only business needs, but also consumer expectations for complete and accurate product information.

The Foodservice GS1 US Standards Initiative is helping foodservice suppliers, distributors and operators understand the value of utilizing GS1 Standards across their supply chains. Today, a number of foodservice operators are embracing GS1 Standards, recognizing that now is the time to leverage advanced barcoding capabilities for future success. Produce suppliers using GS1-128 barcodes on cases and PTI best practices are likely to have an advantage as foodservice operators will seek out those understanding current case-level traceability practices.

Current Foodservice GS1 US Standards Initiative members that have communicated their intent to include their traceability information between trading partners include: Chipotle Mexican Grill, dineEquity (IHOP, Applebee’s) and IPC/Subway.

As a result, produce suppliers should be prepared for higher expectations and more operator-driven questions about traceability capabilities. By adopting and using GS1 Standards, such as the GS1-128 barcode, produce suppliers can show they are ready, willing and able to continue to collaborate with foodservice operators to achieve optimal supply chain visibility, and improved collaboration between trading partners.

To learn more visit www.gs1us.org/foodservice.

McLain Realizes Multiple Benefits from Implementing Traceability System

McLain Farms is one of the largest producers of sweet onions in the country that has been seeking to implement a new traceability and inventory management solution for the past two years. Their main goal was to make sure the new system would comply with Produce Traceability Initiative best practices for barcode labeling and that it would be efficient to use at McLain’s packing facility.

“We use three label printers from one touch-screen on the packing floor,” said owner Rusty McLain. “From that screen, we are able to print the bin label, the case label or the pallet label. The equipment is housed on a rolling cart on the packing floor that can be moved to whichever production line is active.”

McLain partnered with Dynamic Systems to automatically generate bills of lading and verify shipments which eliminate charge-backs. In addition, the solution records production information—lot numbers, product attributes, weight and quantity of cartons packed—and provides inventory and traceability reports for improved inventory management, traceability and shipping operations.

“We are seeing many benefits from implementing our traceability system,” said Randy McLain. “Key results include increased production speed, the ability to get real-time, accurate production and inventory reports, fulfill traceability requirements with professional looking carton and pallet labels, and expedited van loading.”

Reasons to Make Implementing PTI Part of Your New Year’s Resolution

If you are a packer of fresh produce and have not implemented PTI labeling yet, add it to your to-do list for 2015.

Why? Here are a few reasons to ring in the New Year with PTI…

With the pending Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) release of the proposed Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Record Keeping Regulation, we anticipate more retailers to make PTI labeling a requirement this coming year;
The implementation of Milestone 6, the electronic capture and storage of case GTINs and Batch/Lot Numbers on receipt along with the implementation of electronic Advance Ship Notices (ASNs) will be the focus for many retailers and distributors in 2015;
And, we know foodservice operators are seeing the benefit of standardized labeling on their cases with GTINs and Batch/Lot Numbers and are making that a requirement for their businesses.
It makes solid business sense to provide PTI compliant cases to your trading partners in the event of a recall situation to demonstrate your efforts to attain whole chain traceability.

A few tips on how to get started…

There are a number of best practice documents that have been created to assist with the implementation of PTI including

These documents and other resources can be found on www.producetraceability.org/resources.

On behalf of all the four administering associations of PTI, wishing you all a happy holiday season and a prosperous New Year!!