Traceability for Consumer Safety and Process Improvement’

Traceability is a vital element of product safety in terms of identifying and controlling contamination incidents. Increasing pressure from regulations, such as the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (F.D.A.), Regulations or Bioterrorism Act, force suppliers in several industries to ensure traceability on a one-up/one-down principle, but not dictate the methods.

The companies are free to choose the control methods. Some manufacturers comply using paper-based systems; others may require full networked computer and barcode systems to effectively meet requirements. This paper discusses these requirements and control methods.