New IDC PeerScape outlines best practices for food traceability

As food and beverage retailers strategize to avoid risks for consumers while keeping profit margins intact, IDC encourages retailers to invest in tracking and other new technologies in its latest report, IDC PeerScape: Practices for Food Traceability in the United States.

According to IDC, one in six Americans get foodborne diseases each year, and 3,000 of those cases result in death. As a result, IDC Retail Insights encourages retailers to invest in tracking technologies in its report on food traceability.

“Retailers that carry food and beverage products with integrated tracking systems and technologies will thrive under consumer trust,” said Victoria Brown, senior research manager at IDC Retail Insights. “In a climate where customer loyalty is faltering, consumers are looking for a retailer they can trust to keep their families safe and healthy in their food choices. Those retailers who gain that trust will win the market.”

In order for retailers to control their food supply chains as effectively as possible to mitigate risk, IDC outlines key practices retailers can employ to help with their visibility across their supply chain. These include, but are not limited to:
● Utilizing lot tracking with coding systems
● Tools for ingredient and recipe management
● Temperature tracking throughout the end-to-end supply chain

According to the report, each of these practices allows for understanding the risk factors associated with the stock keeping units carried by a retailer, and enables faster response time to allergen or bacterial concerns. When retailers know what they have on their shelves, they are better equipped to respond in a timely manner, and more accurately.