Food traceability gaining popularity
Traceability schemes were initially introduced to track agricultural commodities from developing countries, such as coffee, cocoa and tea. Consumer concerns about food safety have led to new traceability schemes for a wide range of ingredients, including soya, sugar, corn and maize.
Most developments are in North America where divisions in the food industry about GM labeling have led to a rise in voluntary traceability schemes. As will be shown at the Sustainable Foods Summit, Non-GMO.
Project Verified is the most popular with over 22,000 certified products. Sales of certified products have increased from nothing to over US $7 billion within 5 years.
Organic food sales are also benefiting. Concerns about pesticides, growth promoters, as well as GMOs, are fueling consumer demand. Organic food sales have reached US $32 billion in USA, comprising over 4% of total food sales.
The rising incidence in food fraud is also making food traceability prominent. The recent horsemeat scandal highlighted the potential scale of mislabeling and fraud in the food industry. It is estimated that up to 10% of all food products could be adulterated.
Organic Monitor finds the growing importance of transparency is presenting fresh challenges to the food industry. Food companies and retailers have to decide what food ingredients / products to focus on, and then select suitable traceability / sustainability schemes. Another challenge is standardization and / or possible harmonization of these schemes. Such issues will be discussed in the upcoming Sustainable Foods Summit.
For more information:
Ms. Tina Gill
Organic Monitor
Tel: (44) 20 8567 0788
Email: press@organicmonitor.com