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From farm to fork, food safety is just a scan away.

Food safety is paramount in today's global market, driving consumer demand for transparency regarding their food's origin. GS1 standards for Fresh Foods traceability provide a solution, ensuring safety and transparency from farm to fork..

 

Fresh Foods Traceability

Fresh foods traceability is the ability to track the forward movement and trace back the source/origin of fresh food products throughout the entire supply chain, from production to the end user.


Fresh Foods Traceability using GS1 standards involve the use of unique identification numbers such as GLNs, GTINs, SSCC, GRAI among others and data exchange protocols to track and trace products from their origin (such as farms, lake) through processing, distribution, and ultimately to the end consumer. The goal is to enhance transparency, accountability, improve efficiency along the entire supply chain and enable quick and accurate responses in the event of product recalls or food safety issues. This gives the consumer confidence that whatever they take into their body is safe.

Fresh Foods Sub sectors

fruitsnvegetables
Fruits & vegetables (Produce)
fish
Fish
meat
Meats
bakery
Bakery
delicatessen
Delicatessen
dairy
Dairy

GS1 Fresh Foods Traceability Steps

You can establish a comprehensive GS1 Fresh Foods Traceability system, enhance transparency, accountability, and the overall safety of fresh food products throughout the supply chain by following these simple steps.


Key GS1 Standards in Use

GS1 has established standards for fresh foods traceability. These standards help in uniquely identifying products, accurately capturing relevant information, and facilitating communication between trading partners.


Implementing GS1 standards helps ensure accurate and efficient traceability of fresh foods throughout the supply chain. By using standardized identifiers, barcodes, and data exchange formats, companies can enhance visibility, reduce errors, and respond more effectively to issues such as recalls or product quality concerns.


Some key GS1 standards for fresh foods traceability include:


  1. 1. Global Trade Item Number (GTIN):   GTIN is a unique identifier assigned to a particular product to distinguish it from others. It is commonly used in barcodes and is crucial for traceability.

  2. 2. GS1-128:  This is a barcode symbology used to encode GS1 identifiers and other data. GS1-128 is often used for labeling cartons and pallets in the fresh food supply chain.

  3. 3. Global Location Number (GLN):  GLN is a unique identifier for physical locations such as farms and processing plants or legal entities. It helps in identifying the parties involved in the supply chain, such as manufacturers, distributors, and retailers.

  4. 4. GS1 Electronic Data Interchange (EDI):  EDI standards enable the electronic exchange of business documents, such as purchase orders and invoices between trading partners in a standardized format.

  5. 5. Global Traceability Standard (GTS):  GS1 has developed the GTS to provide a standardized approach for traceability. It involves the use of GTINs, GLNs, and other identifiers to link products and locations in the supply chain.

  6. 6. Product Recall Standard:  GS1 has guidelines for product recall processes, facilitating efficient and accurate communication during a recall situation.

Benefits of Food Traceability

Food traceability brings about numerous benefits to the industry stakeholders by enhancing safety, transparency, visibility, accountability and efficiency throughout the entire food supply chain. It promotes trust among consumers, supports regulatory compliance, and helps businesses make informed decisions for better quality control and risk management.


Farmers and Producers :   (click here)

Consumers:   (click here)

Suppliers and Distributors:   (click here)

Retailers:   (click here)

Food Processors and Manufacturers:   (click here)

Regulatory Authorities   (click here)

Insurance Companies (click here)

SHAMBA ikoNET

Farmers’ Digital Link to the Market.


SHAMBA ikoNET is a web-based platform that provides seamless visibility of products/commodities, as they move from a farmer to a consumer/buyer through a logistic partner.

The platform brings together

  1. i.Farmers through a regional consolidator
  2. ii.Logistic partner/distributor
  3. iii. Consumer/buyer
  4. iv. On the payment side, it brings on-board M-Pesa and PayPal for real-time and seamless transactions.
  5. v. On the system administration side, GS1 Kenya provides behind-the-scenes technical support to ensure smooth operations of the system.

Objective

The main objective is to adopt the GS1 Standards for food traceability to address the challenges of supply chain invisibility and operational inefficiencies.


There is an increased demand from consumers to know about the safety of what they eat, especially for fresh produce. Consumers want to understand the journey behind the fruits and vegetables, to know whether they are safe for consumption and cultivated in an ethical way. On the other hand, small-scale farmers have not been in a position to easily access the market and at the same time get value for their farm produce.

GS1 Standards in Use

SHAMBA ikoNET is a traceability solution that provides the very key foundation needed for quality fresh food supply based upon proprietary identification methods among small-scale farmers. The platform is being run on GS1 standards that support end-to-end visibility from source to consumer, including the use of:


  1. . Global Location Number (GLN): A globally unique number used to access master data about a location.
  2. . Global Trade Item Number (GTIN): Used to uniquely identify product’s various parameters such as color codes, net weights, etc.
  3. . Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC): Used for any logistic units that require individual identification, such as couriered parcels.
  4. . Data Matrix/QR codes: Used to capture all data collected from the farm level and throughout the supply chain.

Key Features

It consists of three main portals namely:
  1. 1. Farmer’s Portal: A platform where all the basic information relating to farmers are captured, including farm location and produce.
  2. 2. Logistics’ Portal: Displays several shipping companies registered in the system.
  3. 3. Consumer’s/Buyer’s Portal: Displays the produce from different farms and allows a buyer to order goods online.

Benefits of Using SHAMBA ikoNET

By adopting the GS1 Kenya-SHAMBA ikoNET system, various parties are envisioned to experience the following benefits:
  1. 1. Farmers to get value for their farm produce. The system will curb all the intermediary middlemen who are involved in fresh produce supply chain and hence linking farmers directly to online buyers.
  2. 2. Direct linkage among buyers, logistic partners, and consolidators. This will ease the delivery processes as the transporter will be in a position to know when exactly to pick the commodities and where to deliver them.
  3. 3. Real-time payment to all parties involved within the Shamba Connect system. The platform is programmed to disburse payments on a real-time module once a buyer remits payment for commodities. Payments are portioned and channeled to all stakeholders seamlessly.
  4. 4. Traceability
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