Tracing fish products effectively across today’s intricate global supply chain is both highly complex and more crucial than ever. To meet this challenge, Marel has created advanced traceability software that automates and simplifies the process, utilizing cutting-edge technologies like blockchain and IoT (Internet of Things). This article offers a helpful overview of why fish product traceability is so important, the challenges involved and how software advancements can provide an effective and dependable system for your business.
Why is traceability important and what are the challenges?
Put simply, traceability is fundamental for ensuring the quality, safety and origin of your products. It’s a tool you use to ensure that your production is following safety and quality processes successfully.
Let’s delve deeper.
As a fish processor, your greatest responsibility is to guarantee that your products are clean and safe for consumption. This is not an easy task—the journey from the ocean to the dinner table is long and complicated, exposing your products to the risk of physical, biological and chemical food contamination at almost every stage.
For consumers, any decline in quality or safety can range from unappetizing fish to severe risks like choking and food-borne diseases. You need to be able to trace any issues as quickly and accurately as possible—the quicker you can pinpoint a problem, the quicker you can contain it.
Complying with food standards and regulations
Navigating the food industry means adhering to a complex array of food safety standards and regulations. Authorities like the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) in the US and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in the EU mandate that food production companies maintain comprehensive records of each step in their supply chain.Further complicating matters, in a global marketplace, you must ensure compliance not only with local regulations but also with the regulations of every other region involved in your supply chain.
Consumers increasingly expect complete transparency about their food. They are not only interested in the nutritional content of their fish but also its origins, whether it’s been sourced ethically and the safety protocols followed from sea to supermarket.By providing detailed information on your packaging, you can showcase the high quality of your products and highlight your commitment to ethical and safe practices
Effectively managing inventory
Traceability is essential for managing your ingredients, time and storage space as efficiently as possible, especially when handling perishable products. You need precise information about the origin, current location, quantity and expiration dates of every item in your inventory.Having this data readily available allows you to use the right ingredients and sell the right products at the optimal time. This efficiency helps prevent food spoilage that can result in waste or, worse still, contamination.
Protecting and enhancing brand reputation
Traceability is vital to safeguard your brand from consumer complaints and product recalls, which have the potential to damage or even ruin your business’s reputation. This is particularly relevant in the era of social media, where negative publicity can spread faster than a food-borne illness.Thankfully, employing the right traceability software provides strong protection against costly and damaging product recalls. With access to real-time data and alerts, you are significantly more likely to detect issues early, preventing them from escalating into major problems.
How Marel technology ensures traceability for fish processors
Innova Traceability
With Innova Traceability software, Marel provides a comprehensive solution that reliably collects, stores and analyzes data in real time, giving you everything you need to secure full traceability throughout your production. From source to shelf, it allows you to trace all registered items one level back and one level forward based on purchase orders and lot numbers.Innova Traceability uses data collection points to link all elements together into one traceability chain. This is key to verifying the safety and quality of your products for your customers. It also provides real-time data-driven insights and alerts in a clear, user-friendly interface, so that you can detect and address issues as soon as they arise.
For companies that need powerful inventory management tools, Marel has developed Innova Inventory. This program enables managers to easily monitor and control all inventories in a single system. It offers a real-time overview of inventory status, enhances put-away and picking processes to ensure proper inventory rotation and helps minimize wastage from expired products and other inefficiencies.This valuable information allows you to optimize product utilization, directly enhancing sustainability, food quality, safety and your profit margins.
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