The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) has revealed plans to increase the speed at which contaminated products are traced within the supply chain in the US.

The two pilot programmes for the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are designed to identify methods of tracing products within the supply chain so that products can be identified quickly and removed from shelves, to help minimise the number of consumers affected by a contaminated product.

Discover B2B Marketing That Performs

Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.

Find out more

As part of phase one, “systems currently in use for identifying, capturing, storing, and sharing data will be “tweaked” to facilitate data analysis,” the company said.

During the second stage, supply chain data will be used to “determine if the interfaces between existing systems are sufficient to trace a product both forward and back along the supply chain”, the IFT added.

“Our work for FDA over the past 12 years lays a solid foundation for us to conduct these pilots,” said IFT executive vice president Barbara Byrd Keenan.
The pilots are expected to be completed in 2012, the IFT added.

The study will involve state regulators, US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service (USDA FSIS), consumer groups and other stakeholders.

GlobalData Strategic Intelligence

US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?

Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.

By GlobalData

Just Food Excellence Awards - Nominations Closed

Nominations are now closed for the Just Food Excellence Awards. A big thanks to all the organisations that entered – your response has been outstanding, showcasing exceptional innovation, leadership, and impact.

Excellence in Action
Winning five categories in the 2025 Just Food Excellence Awards, Centric Software is setting the pace for digital transformation in food and FMCG. Explore how its integrated PLM and PXM suite delivers faster launches, smarter compliance and data-driven growth for complex, multi-channel product portfolios.

Discover the Impact