WG’s Supply Chain Risk Management Solution Answers FDA’s Call to Apply Technologies to Advance Food Safety

In April, the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner stated: “Technologies need to create a more transparent and safer food system while addressing consumer demands for quick access to information about where their foods come from, how they’re produced and, if the food is the subject of an ongoing recall.”  iFood Decision Sciences is proud to be part of a technology-driven program which answers the Commissioner’s call:  Western Growers (WG) new Supply Chain Risk Management Solution.

Launched during a Forbes AgTech Summit session moderated by FDA’s Frank Yiannis, this unique and comprehensive food safety program will help produce companies advance daily improvement through real time assessment of their food safety practices.

The Supply Chain Risk Management Solution utilizes new technology to advance food safety in several ways:

• Daily Assessment: While industry currently assesses compliance and successful implementation of practices through third party audits (a snapshot in time), this program’s unique software system allows companies daily and continuous input on their food safety performance.

• Track Trends:  This system allows companies to easily review and track food safety data to identify trends that facilitate ongoing improvements in food safety practices throughout the supply chain.

• Traceback: The software system can track product using blockchain technology from farm to fork. This protects companies and their customers by facilitating efficient recalls when warranted and, more importantly, the readily available traceback data can quickly prove which products were uninvolved in a food safety event.

• Liability Coverage: The solution offers indemnification to supply chain participants in the case of a contamination event.

WG has partnered with iFood Decision Sciences (iFoodDS) to deliver the unique software system which allows companies the ability to assess and track all food safety systems and processes in real time and provides actionable information on needed improvements. Additionally, HarvestMark’s traceback system gives companies item level traceability throughout the supply chain (not just one step forward and back) plus blockchain compatibility so customers and consumers can quickly determine if a product is safe to sell, buy and consume.

Several WG member companies that grow, ship and process produce are in the process of implementing the Supply Chain Risk Management Solution. The system is easy to implement since it is designed to be open source and work with other existing systems already in place.

To learn more about this Supply Chain Risk Management Solution, contact sales@iFoodDS.com or call 206.219.3703.