IDFA teamed with two other organizations to develop and release last week a new traceability implementation guideline for leveraging GS1 global standards for the dairy, deli and bakery supply chains. A collaborative effort by the International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association, GS1 US and IDFA, the guide incorporates input from industry stakeholders and identifies recommended procedures for effective product tracing across the retail sector.

GS1 is an information standards organization that helps industries meet supply-chain challenges by implementing global standards through the use of unique numbering and identification systems, bar codes, data synchronization and electronic information exchange. The new “Traceability for Dairy, Deli & Bakery U.S. Implementation Guideline” offers precise instructions for using these standards to identify, capture and share product data throughout the supply chain.

IDFA believes that any traceability requirements issued by the Food and Drug Administration under the Food Safety Modernization Act should be consistent with voluntary industry efforts. In addition to this guide, the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy recently issued its “Guidance for Dairy Product Enhanced Traceability,” which sets minimum standards for data collection, recordkeeping and traceability self-assessment. IDFA also collaborated on this project.

“It’s clear that industry sectors are taking a leadership role in developing and implementing effective traceability practices,” said Clay Detlefsen, IDFA vice president of regulatory affairs. “We encourage FDA to review these voluntary efforts, which have been designed to work in tandem with existing traceability rules and would bolster the agency’s own future efforts to improve regulatory compliance.”

To support the new guide, GS1 US has developed a Dairy, Deli & Bakery Traceability Readiness Program that includes educational webinars, interactive tools and resources, and access to a community of industry peers and standards experts available to industry professionals who want to discuss implementation challenges and best practices. Visit www.gs1us.org/DDBreadiness.

For more information, contact Detlefsen at cdetlefsen@idfa.org.