Food Traceability Guide
Food Traceability Guide
Food Traceability Guide
JUNE 2019
INTRODUCTION
This is a quick reference guide for food businesses. It complements the main guidance on
Food Traceability, Withdrawals and Recalls within the UK Food Industry, which has been
produced to explain the legal requirements in relation to food traceability, withdrawals and
recalls. The guidance can be found at:
and
Not place unsafe food on the market (food is unsafe if it is injurious to health
or unfit for human consumption)
Comply with food law in the production, distribution, storage and sale of food
Be able to trace suppliers of your food and the business customers that
you have supplied
Remove unsafe food from the market in the event of a food safety incident
2
TRACEABILITY
Traceability helps keep track of food in the supply chain, which supports the accurate
withdrawal/recall of unsafe food, if required. The more information you keep, the easier
and quicker it will be to identify the affected food, mitigate risks to consumers and save time
and money.
You must have traceability information for your suppliers and business
customers (one step back and one step forward)
You must have systems and procedures in place to allow for traceability
information to be made available to enforcement authorities on demand
LAW
You must label or identify food placed on the market to facilitate its
traceability
3
KEY STEPS IN DEVELOPING A FOOD TRACEABILITY SYSTEM
1. THE SYSTEM
You must be able to trace food/ingredients purchased from suppliers and then supplied to
business customers (excluding food supplied to final consumer).
This will help to ensure good traceability and can limit the amount of food to be
withdrawn/recalled.
3. TRACEABILITY INFORMATION
• Business name
• Business address
• Description of foods purchased and sold
• Quantities
• Transaction dates
4. RECORD KEEPING
You must ensure your traceability information can be made available on demand.
For more information please refer to the TRACEABILITY section of the main guidance.
4
FOOD WITHDRAWALS/RECALLS
If a food safety incident happens and the food has been supplied, it will have to be ‘withdrawn’
and if necessary ‘recalled’.
5
MAKING A DECISION TO WITHDRAW OR RECALL FOOD
In the event of a food incident, where the food has left your immediate control, you will need
to determine if the food is unsafe and a course of action. The decision tree below outlines the
process to follow.
In some cases, you may be able to easily identify that a food is unsafe. However, not all hazards
that might be found in food are specified in food safety regulations and therefore you may be
required to carry out a risk assessment.
For more information on the decision-making process and carrying out risk assessments please
refer to the MAKING A DECISION TO WITHDRAW OR RECALL FOOD section of the main
guidance.
6
INITIATING AND MANAGING A FOOD WITHDRAWAL/RECALL
A number of key aspects need to be considered when initiating and managing a
food withdrawal/recall:
INFORMATION
MONITORING HANDLING
GATHERING/ NOTIFICATION
PROGRESS UNSAFE FOOD
INVESTIGATION
For more information please refer to the INITIATING AND MANAGING A FOOD WITHDRAWAL/
RECALL section of the main guidance.
7
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Retailer receiving
Non-retail Caterers
FBO initiating notification (inc
FBO receiving receiving
withdrawal/recall caterers selling
notification notification
prepacked food)
Stop supply
For more information please refer to the ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THOSE INVOLVED
IN A WITHDRAWAL/RECALL section of the main guidance.
8
USEFUL CONTACTS
To stay up to date with information on food recalls/allergy alerts please see:
For Scotland
FSA
Incidents Response Teams
England
Tel: 020 7276 8448
Email: [email protected]
Wales
Tel: 02920 678961
Email: [email protected]
Northern Ireland
Tel: 02890 417700
Email: [email protected]
Online Notification
FSS
Scotland
Scottish Food Crime and Incidents Unit
Tel: 01224 285138
Email: [email protected]
Online Notification