A recent article in the 2011 edition of the Association of Food Industries Journal suggested a proposed solution to address the increased levels of a quality defect affecting cashews. The approach was to increase tolerance levels for the defect, in this case, adhering testa: a thin brown membrane that covers the surface of the cashew. The article goes on to quote:

“…members started noticing cashews were not meeting the AFI specification for testa. Several conference calls and meetings followed, giving members theopportunity to discuss the problem, collect information and offer remedies. The group decided that since adhering testa is not a food safety issue, the best solution was to increase the allowable level of testa. As I write this, members of the Cashew Group within the Nut and Ag Section are voting on whether or not to adopt the change to the AFI standard.”

Certainly, lowering standards is one solution. But we have a better idea:

1.) Determine why cashews are not meeting tolerance levels for testa
2.) Determine what is causing the levels to increase.
3.) Determine which supplier’s have had increased defect levels, and identify available resources that will help them take necessary corrective actions to minimize the defect and consequently improve their quality to meet the current standard.

Increased defects in raw materials affect your bottom line! ConcernTrak has created an affordable solution that addresses these issue.

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Reasons why PTI works

• Traceability standardization brings a cohesiveness to the industry.
• Adopting one standard simplifies the process, giving every member of the produce industry a directive that is uncomplicated, organized and easy to adhere to.
• Traceability standards helps regulatory agencies by giving them one set of specifications without having to decipher multiple formats.
• The PTI pioneered the adoption of GS1 and is a shining example of industry unification that has been used as the model for other food industry sectors including: Food Service; Meat & Poultry; Deli, Bakery, Dairy.
• If all food sectors follow the PTI example it would simplify the process of developing an effective traceability solution for the entire food industry.

Conclusion

The produce industry was the first to standardize the requirements of a traceability initiative based on GS1,an international non profit agency dedicated to the design and implementation of global standards. ConcernTrak is the first to make it available for any budget.

How to trace a shipment of anything in 3 steps.

• 1. Click the “Trace” link located at the top right of this website.
• 2. Click ‘sample’ to generate a sample code for your demo.
• 3. Voila!

What does this mean?

Until now, tracking food outbreaks have been darn-near impossible. Turns out many supply chains are still on a paper-based systems. A major flaw is the inability to track something instantly. And of course in the event of a recall, the demand for instant access is a number one priority. It can take many days of phone call after phone call to potentially discover what maybe a dead end; unacceptable.

Our Tracing feature is the answer to this deadly problem. Any shipment with a ConcernTrak label can be traced back instantly from it’s source. Okay enough of me, try tracing a sample shipment now

Graphs make seeing trends easy
“ConcernTrak Analytics provide charts and trends, accelerating greater analysis into shipment traffic and content quality,” said Justin Jones, Systems Development Director. “This innovative feature will provide the food industry a brand new opportunity to anticipate shipment quality, strengthen buying decisions, and ultimately prevent recalls,” said Mary Smith, Vice President.

Priced for the rest of us
“The important thing was that we had to make this accessible and affordable,” said David. “There are other tracking systems today that cost thousands of dollars to setup and are cost prohibitive to businesses. We designed this system to be under a $100 a month, turn-key, in one concise place.