PTI/FYI e-news: September/October 2012 – The Produce Traceability Initiative

What’s new with the Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI)? This edition of PTI FYI includes:

In This Update

Guidance on Using EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice/Manifest Transaction Set (ASN)
PTI Website Makeover Focused on Implementation
PMA’s Fresh Summit to Feature PTI education, Networking, Expo
Shared Commitment to PTI Brings Scott Farms and Food Lion Together for Business
Select Articles Discussing PTI Progress

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

In This Update

Resources: Guidance on Using EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice/Manifest Transaction Set (ASN)

Members of the PTI Implementation and Technical Working Groups have been working together to develop guidance for using Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) 856 Advance Ship Notice (ASN) for implementation in the produce industry. The new guidance document Why and How to Use EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice is now available on the Resources and Tools page on the PTI website. It explains what an EDI ASN is, why companies may choose to implement it, what business benefits may be derived from using an ASN, and also outlines the technical specifications for implementing an EDI 856 ASN for produce shipments.

News: PTI Website Makeover Focused on Implementation

This fall, the pages of the Produce Traceability Initiative website are becoming a bit more colorful and slightly reorganized to keep companies and the larger produce community engaged and active in PTI implementation. Take a look at our new homepage refocused on PTI success stories, implementation scorecards and checklists. Our tools and resources remain easily accessible with all the implementation guidance you need. As always, we would love to hear from you, so please let us know what additional resources you may find helpful in your PTI implementation.

Events: PMA’s Fresh Summit to Feature PTI education, Networking, Expo

Traceability will be a key topic when PMA’s Fresh Summit International Convention & Expo convenes Oct. 26-28 in Anaheim, CA. Saturday Oct. 27’s agenda will feature an evening networking reception for traceability and other food safety, technology and supply chain professionals.

PTI FYI readers interested in attending the reception should contact PMA’s Ed Treacy for an invitation. The two-day Fresh Summit expo opening Saturday will include numerous traceability solution providers. For more event information, to search exhibitors and to register, visit the Fresh Summit website.

News: Shared Commitment to PTI Brings Scott Farms and Food Lion Together for Business

Business is a little sweeter this fall for Scott Farms as a result of a successful PTI pilot with Food Lion, one of the largest supermarket companies in the United States. Over the last few years, the two companies frequently crossed paths at industry events and traceability discussions, and today Scott Farms is among Food Lion’s suppliers, providing sweet potatoes to many of its 1,100 stores. It is their shared commitment to PTI that has laid the perfect foundation for a successful business relationship.

Scott Farms—a 3rd generation family farm—grows sweet potatoes on 1,900 acres throughout North Carolina. Four years ago, the company began taking a proactive stance on food traceability and safety, working diligently to become PTI compliant.

Over the course of 2010 and 2011, Food Lion and Scott Farms often participated in traceability discussions together, seeking to understand how to best address produce traceability and food safety by following the milestones set out by PTI.

"Scott farms was extremely passionate about participation in our produce traceability program," said Teri Miller, manager of produce for Food Lion. "They proactively contacted us about joining our pilot and were absolutely taking the appropriate steps to become PTI compliant. Their case labels and hybrid pallet tags scanned accurately, and the transition was very smooth."

As a result of the successful pilot, Scott Farms was able to gain new business from one of the nation's largest grocery store chains.

“Scott Farms and Food Lion share a sincere belief that the PTI is right not just for us, but for the entire industry in helping to ensure the safety of our food supply,” said Stephanie Williams, domestic sales marketing manager for Scott Farms. “We’re very glad that Food Lion gave us an opportunity and that we were able to show them that we were fully prepared to meet the PTI requirements we both feel are necessary for traceability. “

To read more success stories please visit our Case Studies and Pilot Test Findings page here.

News: Select Articles Discussing PTI Progress

The following is a selection of recent news articles and editorials reporting on the work of PTI volunteers.

Perishable News, Sept. 20, 2012 “With the Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI) combined with FSMA (Food Safety Modernization Act), North American produce companies (growers, repackaging and distribution based) are faced with a choice as to how to address the demanding requirements from the incoming palletized mushrooms all the way through their washing, grading and slicing processes to finished packaged goods.”

SmartBlog on Food & Beverage , Aug. 24, 2012 “In the fresh foods sector, the Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI) is an excellent example of industry participants coming together to tackle traceability, aiming even higher than current FSMA directives.”

Enterprise Labeling, Aug. 31, 2012 “In a recent status update, the Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI) discussed the results of a survey that looked at industry stakeholders' progress on PTI implementation.”

The Packer, Aug. 31, 2012 “For example, if every produce marketer were required to have case-level traceability by a certain date, then it would take some of the drama out of the question of industry progress toward the milestones of the Produce Traceability Initiative.”