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Food chain traceability: Updated guidance from Campden BRI 08 Apr 2009

When problems arise with a particular product, it is important to know which batches are affected, so that suitable steps can be taken to remove the product from the market, while not unnecessarily removing unaffected products.
The basis for this is a robust traceability system. Traceability is a widely used term and is one of those broad concepts, like quality, for which there are many definitions and applications.
 
Depending on the nature of the business, traceability will seek to achieve various objectives: as well as trouble-shooting scenarios, such as the unexpected presence of an illegal additive, it can help to demonstrate requirements such as: freedom from allergens; organic status; and compliance with religious requirements.
 
Although regulations, international standards and commercial standards require traceability systems, none is prescriptive in the way they are to be achieved. This guideline (Traceability in the food and feed chain: general principles and basic system requirements - Guideline No. 60) outlines the general principles and basic system requirements for the design and implementation of a traceability system - with special reference to food safety and to legal and commercial requirements in the European Union.
 
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