Traceability in small and medium sized enterprises

Food safety has been a growing concern for the past decades as various food scandals/scares have surfaced. Traceability is an important tool in increasing food safety as it allows food business operators and authorities to withdraw or recall products which have been identified as unsafe. This is a cornerstone of the EU food safety policy.

In the past few weeks traceability has been put under a considerable strain. The presence of horse meet in different meat products emphasises the importance of good quality control and traceability.

The increased emphasises on traceability can be viewed as an opportunity for the SME´s. The challenge for the SME´s is to build up a solid and transparent quality control and traceability system. This should not be very difficult as the raw material they use for their production is usually from their close neighbourhood. This gives the SME´s opportunities to build up a good reputation and trust of the consumers.

There is a growing interest in locally produced food, that interest can be enhanced by making the origin of the products more visible to the consumers, increasing their sense of security and ultimately food safety.

Gunnþórunn Einarsdóttir, project leader of SME

gunna@matis.is

Photo: matis.is