The Review and Critical Thinking Questions below have been provided for you to revise and refl ect on the content of this chapter.
Review Questions
1. What is trust, how can it be conceptualized and how is it different from privacy?
2. What are the major issues associated with trust in agribusiness
3. What are the major issues associated with trust in the digital environment?
4. Why is trust so important in a B2B marketplace and how is it created?
5. Defi ne risk and give three examples of risky practices in the digital environment.
6. Describe the 3Rs and discuss the functional activities associated with managing them.
7. Defi ne and discuss the factors used in evaluating risk.
8. Outline some risks that are particularly relevant to electronically enabled business and describe how these might be minimized in an organization.
9. Why have a business continuity plan?
Critical Thinking Questions
1. What are the major drivers of risk? Describe, using a specifi c example, a risk management strategy that could be put together to address them.
2. Compare and contrast the concepts of collaborative supply chain management and ordinary supply chain management – where do electronic technologies fi t in, what are the biggest risks and how can these be managed?
3. What do you think Withcott Seedlings’ biggest risk factors will be in the future and discuss, using the what, why, how framework, Wendy Erhart’s biggest challenge in the coming years.
4. Discuss the potential use of GIS technology in disaster management planning by devising a scenario to: a) look at production risk in a ‘normal’ and in a ‘drought’ situation; b) describe how spatial data and a GIS could be used to manage, from a business angle, a disaster situation such as the World Trade Center attack.
171
Food Tracking and Traceability in the ‘E’ World
We are what we eat
As consumers become more and more sophisticated they are demanding more information about where the food they are buying comes from and what has been done to it. In addition, the recent major animal health scares such as foot and mouth disease (FMD) and BSE (bovine spongiform encephalitis or Mad Cow disease) outbreaks in the UK, Europe, USA and Canada – along with the potential for bioterrorism to cripple the marketplace, have highlighted the need for systems to be in place along the food production chain to enable full tracking and traceability of a product from paddock to plate. As a result, both governments and the commercial sector have focused, and continue to focus attention on the development of processes, standards and regulations to ensure that food safety within production systems is a key issue in ensuring economically, environmentally, ethically and socially sustainable food production.
This chapter looks at the issues of biosecurity, food safety, product tracking and traceability (includingidentity preservation) as they relate to the agri-food industry. The chapter also outlines ‘What, Why, and How’, electronic enablement within and across agri-food chains facilitates and enables the processes involved. Precision farming technologies, electronic identifi cation systems, and product packaging and labelling systems will be discussed as illustrations of major points.
Chapter Objectives
After reading this chapter the reader should understand and be able to describe:
1. What biosecurity means in relation to agri-industry food chains.
2. What food safety entails and what HACCP is.
3. Food traceability systems and what is involved in product tracking.
4. Identity Preservation and where it fi ts into the traceability debate.
5. How ‘E’ technologies are being employed for traceability systems – particularly in relation to agri-food products.
6. What, Why and How precision farming and livestock electronic identifi cation schemes aid in food traceability.
7. The part that food packaging and labelling play in today’s quality controlled world.
Biosecurity
Biosecurity refers to the policies and measures taken for protecting a nation’s natural resources including its food supply, from biological invasion and threats both from accidental contamination and/or deliberate attacks of bioterrorism (i.e. ensuring a nation’s bio-safety).
Bioterrorism in this case covers such deliberate acts as introducing pests intended to kill food crops; spreading a virulent disease among animal production facilities, and poisoning water and food supplies or purposively contaminating the environment. (Wikipedia, 2005).
Biological weapons that cause disease, such as the anthrax that was used through the US postal system in 2001, are distinct from chemical weapons such as ricin, which was used on the Japanese subway in 1995, and nuclear weapons. Because of the technical factors unique to the development and deployment of biological weapons, historically it has been Nation States, rather than non-state groups, that have been likely to be the deliberate perpetrators of bioterrorist attack (CRC, 2003). This chapter will not pursue this aspect of biosecurity further but readers can go to the Institute of Biosecurity at St Louis University in the USA (www.
bioterrorism.slu.edu/) for further readings.
Bio-safety in relation to the agri-food sector is about reducing the risk of viral or transgenic genes, or prions such as BSE/Mad Cow and reducing the risk of food bacterial contamination.
By international agreement, bio-safety involves the application of the precautionary principle which is the idea that if the consequences of an action are unknown, but are judged to have some potential for major or irreversible negative consequences, then it is better to avoid that action. Some of the major issues that need to be thought about under the umbrella of biosecurity and biosafety are:
1. Emerging infectious diseases – for example, new, previously unrecognized diseases such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), or known diseases which have increased in incidence, virulence or geographic range over the past two decades (e.g. foot and mouth disease), as well as diseases which threaten to increase in the near future (e.g.
avian infl uenza).
2. Pathogen pollution – which is human-mediated introduction of alien pathogens such as pests.
3. Livestock disease surveillance – which is a systematic series of investigations of a given population of animals to detect the occurrence of disease for control purposes.
In an effort to counteract the general public’s concerns, a number of pieces of legislation have been enacted around the world that address these issues – for example:
• Regulation No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Councilwhich specifi cally addresses the general principles and requirement of Food Law, establishes the European Food Safety Authority and lays down the procedural requirements in relation to food safety (Euro-Lex Portal, 2005)
• The USA’s Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002(the Bioterrorism Act, Section 36) (FDA Portal, 2005)
• The UK’s Food Safety Act 1990 (Amendment) Regulations 2004 and General Food Regulations 2004. (UK Food Standards Agency, 2005)
• The Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (up to Amendment 81, 2005) which has force in Law under the Australia New Zealand Food Authority Act 1991 (incorporating amendments made for the inclusion of New Zealand in the National Food Authority Amendment Act 1995). (Australian Food Standards Agency, 2005).
It is not the intention of this chapter to go into detail on the legislative issues associated with biosecurity – rather this chapter will look at food safety focusing on those aspects associated with product tracking and traceability throughout agri-food chains. It is however suggested that readers familiarise themselves with the appropriate legislation of the country in which they are interested in doing business in, or with, to ensure that their processes and documentation are appropriate and up-to-date.
Quarantine
One aspect of biosecurity that should be mentioned here as it relates to the agri-industry sector is the issue of quarantine and import/export practices. Generically, a country’s quarantine service (for example in Australia, the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS), in the USA the Division of Global Migration and Quarantine (CDC), and in the UK the Department of Animal Health and Welfare), are government organizations that exist to protect a country’s unique environment against exotic pests and diseases. In order to do this they provide inspection services at offi cial entry ports to a country and they provide inspection and certifi cation for import and export purposes.
Legislation as to what may or may not be brought into a country, or may be exported from a country to another one, is strictly country-unique – details of which can generally be found at the website of the country of interest’s quarantine service (quarantine services around the world have quickly adapted their information services to internet delivery). However, in terms of agricultural produce these differences can have a dramatic impact on trade. A good example is that of Australian tropical fruit being exported to China (UQ, 2005).
Currently, Australian horticultural companies are endeavouring to expand their export interests particularly into Asian markets. China is seen as a potentially lucrative market to access because of Australia’s geographical proximity, counter seasonal production advantage and potential to service mass markets. At present, only Tasmanian apples and Queensland mangoes (as of 2005 harvest) have legal access to China and require stringent quarantine post harvest treatments before they are allowed into the country via offi cial trade channels. China imposes stringent quarantine processes on tropical fruit because of the many possible pests and diseases that can contaminate the products. Australia is a very large island country and comprises a Federation of States; however, it is examined under a single protocol system by Chinese authorities rather than by protocols that govern each state. This means that individual state trade potential is inhibited because of pests and diseases that may be prevalent in one state but not in another. Thus, Queensland produce is considered to harbour the same pests and diseases from a Chinese perspective as that of the 3000km-distant State of Western Australia – which in reality, it does not. This particular issue has already impacted the export of mangoes from Queensland to China, in that they can only be exported after expensive and quality reducing Vapour Heat Treatment (VHT) – a treatment that is not required by China from other mango importing countries such as South Africa (UQ, 2005). Such quarantine requirements present two barriers for Australian exporters:
• Increased costs of conducting the necessary treatment
• Loss of quality as the process can change the texture and taste of fruit.
The effects of this are again two-fold. The fi rst being that it deters exporters because they can simply target markets where these costs are not incurred (e.g. New Zealand) and secondly, importers would prefer to source foreign fruit that has retained its superior standard from other countries such as South Africa.
With SARS, FMD, Avian Infl uenza and BSE all becoming real threats to world health in recent years, quarantine services are a signifi cant infrastructural component in a country’s biosecurity armour.
Food Safety
There is no doubt that ‘we are what we eat’ and there are many things that we eat! Food safety is defi ned by Wikipedia (2005) as:
Protecting the food supply from microbial, chemical (ie rancidity, browning) and physical (ie drying out, infestation) hazards or contamination that may occur during all stages of food production and handling – growing, harvesting, processing, transporting, preparing, distributing and storing.
Recent trends in global food production, processing, distribution and preparation are creating an increasing demand for a safer global food supply. How can this be achieved? One avenue is obviously research into what creates a problem and what can be done to solve it – the main areas of interest being:
• Microbiological risks
• Chemical risks
• Biotechnology (GMO) issues
• Food Standards
• Food borne diseases
From the perspective of food tracking and traceability, what stands out is the issue of food standards because these by their very nature, incorporate what research is currently available into a set of measurable indices that can be used to assess food quality and safety as well as minimize risk. The Codex Alimentarius is the main set of reference tools globally on food standards.
The Codex Alimentarius
The Codex Alimentarius is the most important international reference point in matters concerning food quality – in fact it is the global reference point for consumers, food producers and processors, national food control agencies and the international food trade. It is a collection of international food standards (the Codex Standards) that have been adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and which cover all the main foods, whether processed, semi-processed or raw. The main objective of the code is to protect the health of consumers and facilitate fair practices in the food trade (FAO, 2005). Codex Standards cover the hygienic and nutritional quality of food, including microbiological norms, food additives, pesticide and veterinary drug residues, contaminants, labelling and presentation, as well as methods of sampling and risk analysis. Specifi cally these standards address:
• Animal Feeding
• Cereal, Pulses and Legumes
• Cocoa Products and Chocolate
• Fats and Oils
• Fish and Fishery Products
• Food Additives and Contaminants
• Food Hygiene
• Food Import/Export and Certifi cation Systems
• Food Labelling
• Food derived from Biotechnology
• Fruit and Vegetable Juices
• Fruit and Vegetables
• Meat Hygiene
• Methods of Analysis and Sampling
• Milk and Milk Products
• Natural Mineral Waters
• Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses
• Pesticide Residues
• Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods
• Sugars
• Vegetable Proteins
To ensure that food safety standards are maintained and both domestic and international legislation is adhered to, a business needs to develop quality control and management systems (Malcolm, 2005). There are a number of internationally recognized systems that businesses can employ including HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) and ISO 9001:2000. In Australia, the AQIS Certifi cation Assurance and SQF 2000 systems are also employed.
1. HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point system). This is a process control system that identifi es where hazards might occur in the food production process and puts into place stringent actions to prevent the hazards from occurring. HACCP has been adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission set up by the Food and Agricultural Association of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), as the international standard for food safety. HACCP focuses on identifying and preventing hazards from contaminating food and involves seven principles (CFSAN (2005) quoting Codex Alimentarius Commission, (1997)).
i. Analyse hazards. Potential hazards associated with a food and measures to control those hazards should be identifi ed. The hazard could be biological, such as a microbe;
chemical, such as a toxin; or physical, such as ground glass or metal fragments.
ii. Identify critical control points. These are points in a food’s production – from its raw state through processing and shipping to consumption by the consumer – at which the potential hazard can be controlled or eliminated. Examples are cooking, cooling, packaging, and metal detection.
iii. Establish preventive measures with critical limits for each control point. For a cooked food, this might include setting the minimum cooking temperature and time required to ensure the elimination of any harmful microbes.
iv. Establish procedures to monitor the critical control points. Such procedures might include determining how and by whom cooking time and temperature should be monitored.
v. Establish corrective actions to be taken when monitoring shows that a critical limit has not been met, e.g. reprocessing or disposing of food if the minimum cooking temperature is not met.
vi. Establish procedures to verify that the system is working properly – for example, testing time-and-temperature recording devices to verify that a cooking unit is working properly.
vii.Establish effective record keeping to document the HACCP system. This should include records of hazards and their control methods, the monitoring of safety requirements and action taken to correct potential problems. Each of these principles must be backed by sound scientifi c knowledge: for example, published microbiological studies on time and temperature factors for controlling food-borne pathogens.
2. ISO 9001:2000. ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is a global network that identifi es what international standards are required by business, government and society, develops them in partnership with the sectors that will put them to use, adopts them by transparent procedures based on national input, and delivers them to be implemented worldwide (ISO, 2001, 2004). ISO 9001:2000 is one of ISO’s internationally recognized quality assurance systems upon which many other similar systems are based (http://
praxiom.com/).
3. AQIS Certifi cation Assurance. This is the quality assurance system monitored by the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service (AQIS) who provide inspection and certifi cation for a range of exports.
4. SQF 2000.This is based on HACCP and recognized by various horticultural businesses as a food based quality system alternative to ISO 9001:2000.
Food quality systems have evolved substantially in the last few years, and they have become an integral part of the food industry’s operational processes in most countries. HACCP and ISO standards, particularly the ISO 9000:2000 family of standards, form the basis of good tracking and traceability systems which are discussed in the next section.
Food Tracking and Traceability
Much has been written about product tracking and traceability generally and more specifi cally, in the food industry, in recent times. As indicated, this has been as a result of recent well documented outbreaks of foot and mouth and Mad Cow disease, food poisoning, genetically modifi ed food introduction, concern over the environment and the fear of bioterrorism. The question is: ‘What is traceability?’ The International Standards Organization (ISO) defi nes traceability as:
The ability to trace the history, application or location of an entity by means of recorded identifi cations.
In other words it is a tool that allows something to be tracked. It is about collecting information on a particular attribute of a product and recording it in a systematic fashion from its creation through to being sold to the consumer.
Despite ISO 9001:2000 indicating that traceability is one of the aspects that should be considered in a quality management system, the ISO defi nition of traceability is too broad for current food safety legislation as it gives no specifi cations as to what needs to be measured or the processes involved. According to Golan et al. (2003) this means that in the USA, food and other agribusinesses have developed their own versions of traceability systems varying in the breadth (i.e. the number and type of attribute of the food item collected), depth (how far back and forward the system tracks relevant information) and precision (the degree of assurance that the system has in detailing a particular food product’s movement) of the information they collect about their product – which is not ideal.
The European Union defi nition is more precise and has enshrined in law in Article 3 (15) of EU regulation 178/2002, that traceability is defi ned as:
The ability to trace and follow a food, feed, food producing animal or substance intended to be, or expected to be incorporated into a food or feed through all stages of production, processing and distribution.
In Europe, traceability is – as of 1 January 2005 – mandatory, and has the principal aim of protecting public health and consumers’ interests in relation to food. Many other nations are rapidly following suit – so what does this actually mean in operational terms compared to the ISO standard requirement? Basically, it means that food businesses will be, or are being, confronted with the legal requirement to build traceability systems that collect, and make easily accessible, far more detailed, precise and accurate information about food products throughout the food chain than is currently required (CIES, 2004).
The following section deals with generic issues of traceability systems as they relate to record keeping, before moving onto more specifi c food traceability system criteria.
Traceability and Tracking Systems
All organizations, irrespective of their unique business activities, require systems that can capture full and accurate records and perform processes for managing those records over time.
Traceability systems are record-keeping systems that act as a tool for making information available either within an organization or between organizations.
Records
Records are traditionally regarded as documents in paper fi les or bound volumes although nowadays, they can exist in any physical format, eg photographic prints, video cassettes, microfi lm and/or any of the many current electronic formats. Records have three distinctive characteristics:
1. Content(the information associated with the attribute being recorded)
2. Structure (the format and relationship between the elements comprising the record) 3. Context(why the record was created, received or used, which includes when and by whom
and under which circumstances, and what links there are to other documents making up the total record).
In short, a record must refl ect accurately the message and the decision, or what was done.