EU food law states that all food products must be traceable by batch, lot or consignment at every stage of its lifecycle up to the point of sale.

When a product needs to be found quickly and withdrawn from potential public consumption or use, it is normally because something has gone wrong. In these circumstances it is necessary to locate the affected items and remove them and to trace the source of the problem. Having to remove an entire product line from existence is a quick option, but if only a small number of the products were affected it is often better to recall them selectively.

How GS1 UK can help
Supply chains are complex. A product is likely to pass through many different companies before it reaches the shelves. It is important that information about a product can be exchanged by all companies involved. This requires compatible processes and data management based on open standards.

The GS1 System allows every product line, and every individual item or batch, to be identified uniquely. The information can be encoded in bar codes or RFID tags that can be scanned at any point in the supply chain.

Comprehensive traceability systems can reduce:

• costs and delays associated with product recalls
• the negative effect on consumers
• numbers of products that have to be recalled
• costs of manual searches through warehouses and stores
• costs of handling returned goods while minimising fraud
• theft and damage by pinpointing where they are happening

To start uniquely identifying your products, services or assets, join GS1 UK today.