Food Science and Technology

Traceability is the ability to ‘track’ or ‘trace’ any food or feed or ingredients used in food production through all stages
of processing and distribution. Traceability is a combined system of procedures to trace, follow and identify individual
raw materials, product unit or batch through all or part of the steps of production, processing and distribution. It is of
great importance to the food supply chain system and plays a major role in the protection of consumer interest,
prevents fraud and improves the efficiency of food safety management for the supply chain. Requirement for traceability
has been enforced by the EU law and require food producers and retailers to have the system in place as part of their
food safety programme. The recent horse meat scandal has put to test the capability and limits of the traceability system
that has been in used and suggests the need for a more critical system which will remain effective despite the complexity
of the supply chain. Traceability has been considered to be a prerequisite programme that supports building of a strong
foundation for the widely known food safety management programme hazards analysis and critical control system
(HACCP). Detailed past, current and future studies and assessments for food traceability in the EU food supply chain
has been presented and with particular attention to the control of meat adulteration (intentional or incidental) in the
food supply chain.
Keywords: Minced meat, Traceability, Adulteration, Authenticity, Clean-in-place

Traceability is the ability to 'track' or 'trace' any food or feed or ingredients used in food production through all stages of processing and distribution. Traceability is a combined system of procedures to trace, follow and identify individual raw materials, product unit or batch through all or part of the steps of production, processing and distribution. It is of great importance to the food supply chain system and plays a major role in the protection of consumer interest, prevents fraud and improves the efficiency of food safety management for the supply chain. Requirement for traceability has been enforced by the EU law and require food producers and retailers to have the system in place as part of their food safety programme. The recent horse meat scandal has put to test the capability and limits of the traceability system that has been in used and suggests the need for a more critical system which will remain effective despite the complexity of the supply chain. Traceability has been considered to be a prerequisite programme that supports building of a strong foundation for the widely known food safety management programme; hazards analysis and critical control system (HACCP). Detailed past, current and future studies and assessments for food traceability in the EU food supply chain has been presented and with particular attention to the control of meat adulteration (intentional or incidental) in the food supply chain.