Abstract
Ensuring food safety is a legal obligation of the manufacturer or of the entity that places the product on sale. Traceability is one of the tools that are used to ensure food safety. It allows the withdrawal of a dangerous or non-compliant product from the market and determines the source of a threat. The aim of the study was to compare the functioning and effectiveness of traceability systems in selected approved meat industry plants. The system functioning in a large meat processing plant, in which the circulation of documents was implemented in a computer system, was compared with two smaller ones, in which paper documentation was carried out, but supported by a computer system. In these plants, the traceability system was based on internal procedures. Properly developed traceability procedures and simulations support and enable response in a crisis. Computer systems streamline and facilitate the traceability process. However, the comparative analysis showed that the use of paper records allowed for efficient identification of the source of the threat. The possibility of performing product traceability was confirmed in these plants. Internal markings and codes and documentation flow, staff training, and awareness proved helpful.
Highlights
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), foot-and-mouth disease, dioxins in poultry meat, eggs and feed contaminated with E. coli (EHEC), and avian and swine flu have caused major crises in the food industry (Forås et al, 2015; Bai et al, 2017; Obal et al, 2017; Yu et al, 2018; Zhang et al, 2020)
The purpose of the work was to compare the functioning of traceability systems by analysing the possibilities of efficient identification of raw materials, spices and additives in three approved meat industry plants with different slaughtering and production capacities
Plant I has a certificate of compliance with ISO 9001 standard, and International Food Standard (IFS) and British Retail Consortium (BRC) certificates
Summary
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), foot-and-mouth disease, dioxins in poultry meat, eggs and feed contaminated with E. coli (EHEC), and avian and swine flu have caused major crises in the food industry (Forås et al, 2015; Bai et al, 2017; Obal et al, 2017; Yu et al, 2018; Zhang et al, 2020). Food companies must have effective tools for identifying suppliers of foodstuffs, feed, farm animals and other substances intended to be added to food (European Commission, 2002; International Trade Centre, 2015; Furdik et al, 2015).One such tool is a traceability system (SouzaMonteiro & Hooker, 2013; Bako et al, 2019). Such a system provides the ability to trace the product path forwards and backwards to determine the cause of non-compliance, guarantee the safety of food delivered to the customer, and minimize losses on the producer's side (Forås et al, 2015; Obal et al, 2017). Traceability throughout the supply chain can only be achieved if food movement records are kept in a way that matches the movement of products, combined with product
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