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ONE of the most important challenges for the fresh produce industry is food safety.
The supply chain is disparate and complex with global markets and fast-moving perishable goods, making it hard to pinpoint the source of issues.
A leading food safety auditor, SAI Global, recently pointed the finger at "weak supply chain management" as a major contributor to product recall issues in Australia.
An important part of a food safety plan is having a food recall process in place. This is where technology can assist.
Fresh produce growers and suppliers can gain greater control over potential food safety risks, including outbreaks and bungled recalls.
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GS1 Australia provides an online platform called 'Recall'. A digital tool to effectively manage product recalls with fast, accurate communication between trading partners and regulators.
This significantly reduces the time it takes to communicate recall notifications.
The result is products are removed more quickly and accurately from the supply chain and retail shelves.
Peak body Produce Marketing Association Australia - New Zealand (PMA-ANZ) is committed to improving the safety of fresh produce.
PMA A-NZ chief executive officer, Darren Keating said food safety underpins the success of the entire fresh produce industry.
"By using tools such as GS1 Australia's Recall platform, the industry can achieve greater speed and consistency in the management of their product recalls and withdrawals, delivering safer produce to Australian consumers," Mr Keating said.
Disasters that see the complete removal of fresh products from the marketplace and significantly impact on sales of all fruit in the segment can be avoided as the Recall platform enables the pinpointing of affected supplier/s, instead of impacting the whole sector.
Use of the Recall platform is supported by FSANZ as a communication tool that enables organisations of any size, including manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and importers to share product recall notifications with their trading partners and regulators and certified by HACCP.
Martin Stone, director at HACCP Australia says the GS1 Australia Recall platform is effective and suitable for businesses that operate a HACCP based Food Safety Programme.
"Issuing a recall or withdrawal notification with GS1 Australia Recall is simple, fast and inexpensive," Mr Stone said.
GS1 Australia is offering a discount subscription for the fresh produce industry.
To find out more visit: gs1au.org/recall
- Copy supplied by GS1.