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September/October 2011 The Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI) is committed to transparency and open communication, both when engaging industry and reaching out to the community. In that spirit, a new edition of PTI FYI is now available to you from the PTI Leadership Council, working groups and our administering organizations. In this edition of PTI FYI, we are pleased to welcome several industry guest writers to share PTI news and information with you. We also interview Institute of Food Technologists staff about IFT's work to assist the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in implementing the new Food Safety Modernization Act. Our members can access this edition of PTI FYI – in English, Spanish and French – on the PTI website.
- Ron Lemaire, CPMA President
IN THIS UPDATE:
Got PTI questions? New webcasts offer answers
from: admin What the Food Safety Modernization Act means for the PTI
from: Tom Stenzel, president, United Fresh FSMA directs FDA to complete several steps that are relevant to fresh produce traceability before establishing a federal track and trace system, including:
At this time, we can't say with certainty what – if any – impact FSMA implementation will have on PTI. Here's what we do know: It will take FDA years to develop FSMA's implementing regulations. Meanwhile, PTI and its globally-established, market-proven GS1 standards are considered the model to follow by other fresh food industries. FDA Deputy Commissioner Michael Taylor told our Leadership Council in May, “when real progress is being made, we encourage that and don't want to be an obstacle” – in other words, he told us not to wait to implement traceability. Interview: IFT to support FDA's FSMA traceability implementation PTI interview with: Jennifer McEntire, Ph.D., IFT senior staff scientist and director of science and technology projects
Q: For PTI FYI readers who may be unfamiliar with IFT, tell us about your organization?
Q: Why is IFT interested in traceability? In fall 2004, after a competitive bid process, FDA awarded IFT a 5-year contract to support the agency in the general area of food protection. In the fall of 2008, FDA used that contract to issue us a task on traceability. Initially FDA tasked IFT to assess the state of the industry and make recommendations. We looked at all types of food, including animal feed, and all points in the supply chain, so we went beyond the scope of the Bioterrorism Act of 2002; about half of the companies involved in that study handled produce in some way. We published the results of that review in 2009, along with an associated report evaluating traceability costs. Also in 2009 we reported the results of a mock tomato traceback we did in conjunction with industry and Harvard University. (To access those reports, visit www.ift.org/traceability; free registration required.) Since then, IFT has been recognized as an expert in and hub for traceability information.
Q: How is IFT supporting FDA's implementation of FSMA?
Q: What are IFT's plans for the pilot projects? FDA has made it clear to us that collaborating with industry and other stakeholders is important. We are looking for partners who are cooperative, open minded and willing to experiment.
Q: How can interested companies get involved?
We are also working with industry associations, and we have a good relationship with them. United Fresh and PMA have been wonderful about attending and presenting at our traceability summits this summer – GS1 US hosted the one in August – and PMA's Ed Treacy is an active participant in a small work group that emanated from those meetings, for which GS1 US supports with an online community room. We're thankful for opportunities provided to speak formally to the industry groups, including at the PTI Leadership Council's October 13 meeting. We are also seeking volunteers for our project oversight panels. This project will be guided by a core 8-member panel that will have one produce industry representative who will be chosen based on the produce item selected to be studied. Subpanels will guide project elements, such as a produce pilot subpanel and a processed food pilot subpanel. A subpanel of state traceback investigators will look at historical data to develop a picture of how long it takes to trace back now, and where there are challenges in the system that the pilots might be used to address. A cost subpanel is being co-managed by Deloitte Consulting and Auburn University. The subpanels will interact, and be represented on the core panel. Although the core panel is mostly selected (except for the produce person) we are still looking to assemble the produce and processed food subpanels, and that will happen very soon after the foods are selected – by late October.
Q: What's the timetable for this work?
Q: Will the public, including industry, have a chance to review IFT's feedback to FDA?
Q: What is your role at IFT? Meet the PTI Leadership Council from: Cathy Green Burns, co-chair PTI Leadership Council and president of Food Lion, Harveys and Reid's Since the inception of the PTI working group, we've made significant progress in moving towards our goal of a common platform for produce traceability. Using the PTI action plan and milestones as our guide, the working group evaluated the appropriate structure to move our work forward for future implementation phases. As a result of this analysis, a new PTI Leadership Council was formed to provide overall leadership, guidance and direction for the entire initiative. I'm honored to co-chair the Council with my colleague Doug Grant, who serves as senior vice president and COO of The Oppenheimer Group. The Leadership Council members bring extensive expertise from across the supply chain, including leading retailers, suppliers, wholesalers and foodservice buyers – all of whom are implementing the PTI. The Leadership Council appreciates the important role it has been given and is committed to supporting companies who want to implement PTI by providing the appropriate tools, resources and guidance for successful implementations. We meet every other month to provide direction on PTI's four working groups; between these meetings, the PTI Executive Committee – a 10-member subset of the full Council – ensures that the PTI's work proceeds expeditiously. We are confident this new structure will enable us to be more nimble and deliver on our commitments for PTI. Please view the list of current Leadership Council members. For more information about the PTI's leadership structure and available tools, visit the Resources & Tools page on the PTI website. Meet the Implementation Working Group from: Steve Roosdahl, director of supply chain management, The Oppenheimer Group and IWG co-chair The Implementation Working Group's (IWG) work focuses on helping the industry to implement PTI by developing best practices, templates and tools, and to apply key learnings to remove barriers to implementation. PTI is standardizing traceability across the industry by using GS1 product identification standards that are based on the PTI's Global Trade Item Numbers® (GTIN®s) and case information-encoding GS1-128 barcodes. Since our group was formed in late 2010, we have covered considerable ground, including approving a voice pick code calculator to address what would have been a major barrier to implementation by warehouses using voice-directed picking systems. We have updated the recommended best practices for lot numbering specifically for field pack operations, and updated the best practice for GTIN assignment strategy. We are currently guiding the PTI pilot project program now getting underway to help answer your implementation questions, define costs and reduce barriers – future editions of PTI FYI will have more information on the pilots. Co-chaired by PMA's Ed Treacy and I, the IWG's membership has grown to 63 individuals from across the supply chain; view a list of current IWG members. Volunteers are welcome; contact Ed Treacy to get involved. For more information about the PTI's leadership structure and currently-available implementation tools, visit the PTI website's Resources & Tools page. JemD International Greenhouse Vegetables and the PTI from: Jim DiMenna, JemD International president and PTI Leadership Council member At JemD International Greenhouse Vegetables we are currently executing our PTI strategy in order to be fully compliant with Milestone 5 by Jan 1, 2012. First, I'd like to put our business in context: A new and unique partnership between Canadian Golden Sun Greenhouse farms and Red Sun Mexican Greenhouse farm allows us to provide a full 12-month supply through two growing seasons. As the Canadian season winds down this fall, the Mexican season is gearing-up. Each of our state-of-the-art facilities provides North American retail customers with fresh greenhouse tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, long English cucumbers, eggplants and other specialty varieties. Similar to any other goal or project we might undertake, JemD has worked through a fairly standardized process to ensure that we are well prepared to implement the PTI. Our company is fully committed to the PTI, including achieving the respective milestones and communicating with our customers about the foreseeable changes. I personally participate on the PTI Leadership Council and we have two additional staff involved with PTI working groups. We know that full company commitment is very important to make this a success. Along with the need to gain an understanding of traceability goals, technologies and processes, it is imperative that you invest in education. We work closely with the PTI staff contacts and regularly reference the PTI website for updates. In addition to the PTI organization, we engage outside resources such as GS1 US and service providers like HarvestMark to provide us with the latest and most appropriate tools and technologies pertinent to our milestone goals. Open company communication is another area that has helped us reach our milestone goals and benchmarks. All JemD team members are aware of what stage we are at, and more importantly, where we are going. Currently, our Red Sun farm in Mexico is applying PTI-compliant 4"x2" case code labels to each box of produce, in preparation for our company-wide launch in January. Each case code contains the following information:
At the shipping point, a hybrid pallet label will be applied to each pallet, to facilitate receiving and traceability of that pallet throughout the distribution channel. Of course, identical practices will be implemented at each of our Canadian farms as we start our 2012 season. The JemD International Greenhouse team looks forward to embracing and working with industry on implementation of all these new changes and upcoming advances. This is a very exciting time for the produce industry and we are proud to be a part of it. For more information, contact JemD International Greenhouse Vegetables by telephone at 1-800-286-0691, or visit us online at www.jemdinternational.com. What we’ve learned about industry RPC labeling practices from: Todd Baggett, CEO, Redline Solutions and TWG co-chair On behalf of the PTI Technology Working Group (TWG), I want to thank the 60 companies who recently completed our survey about industry practices for labeling of returnable plastic containers (RPCs). Your input was invaluable to our group as we worked to draft best practices for PTI-compliant labeling of RPCs. Our work is now being reviewed by PTI’s other working groups, and will be available on the PTI website soon after the PTI Leadership Council reviews it at their October meeting being held in conjunction with PMA’s Fresh Summit. In the meantime, following is a summary of what we learned about industry’s current RPC labeling practices (note, not all respondents answered all questions):
Upcoming PTI education: Workshop planned at PMA’s Fresh Summit from: admin Did you know that throughout the course of the year the PTI’s four administering organizations conduct PTI education, in addition to educational programming sponsored by the PTI itself? The next such offering is planned for Saturday, October 15, when PMA will host a workshop at its annual Fresh Summit International Convention and Exposition. "What Companies Have Learned from PTI Pilots" will help attendees sort through PTI questions and issues. Speakers will be early-adopter companies from across the supply chain. Fresh Summit registration is required to attend. For more information, visit the Fresh Summit website. |
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