From the field to the shop counter

GS1 standards ensure that food can be traced

BSE, rotten meat, pesticides in fruit and vegetables – the European Union has drawn the legal conclusions from the food scandals of recent years and in 2005 the basic EU directive 178/2002 came into force. According to this, all parties involved in the food process chain are obliged to ensure the traceability of their products. Electronic data interchange on the basis of the GS1 standards permits precise documentation along the entire value chain. Numbers for articles and shipping containers, which are unambiguous worldwide, permit, for example, the route taken by a steak to be traced from the meadow to the meat counter. Companies are at all times able to identify particular deliveries quickly and reliably. This guarantees efficient control of the activities involved in recalling goods. In a crisis both dealers and producers can react quickly and systematically – and prevent consumers being put at risk.