Produce Traceability Initiative

Resources & Tools

In an effort to implement the Produce Traceability Initiative as outlined in the Action Plan, the following Resources & Tools are available to provide comprehensive background information on each of the steps and best practices to assist the industry in accomplishing the milestones.

Making the Case for Chainwide, Electronic Traceability

PTI Organizational Chart (August 2010)

The PTI organization began transitioning in August 2010 to allow for more industry involvement. The new structure includes a supply chain-wide Leadership Council, several industry-led working groups to manage key PTI activities, and more.

PTI Working Group Charters (August 2010)

The new PTI organization includes industry-led working groups to manage key PTI activities. This document describes each working group's charter.

CPMA/PMA/United Fresh Statement of Recommitment to the PTI (May 2010)

The Executive Committees of the PTI’s three administering associations have restated their commitment to the initiative, and proposed six recommendations moving forward.

GS1 Global Fruit & Vegetable Traceability Implementation Guide (May 2010)

New from GS1, this guide documents best practices for implementing traceability in the fresh produce industry. This practical guide is intended for those responsible for implementing traceability in their company’s operations across the entire produce supply chain. It updates and replaces the CPMA/PMA Fresh Produce Traceability Guide to Implementation v2 (October 2006).

PMA/United Fresh Industry Survey Summary (March 2010)

Seventy percent of respondents are working to implement the PTI’s milestones, according to a newly-released survey of companies selling into the United States. Respondents offered insight into their needs and interests to the PTI leadership moving forward.

GS1 US Industry Survey Summary (March 2010)

A survey conducted by not-for-profit solution provider GS1 US found a majority of buyers are working to implement the PTI, and also offered valuable insight to the PTI leadership on issues and interests facing this segment of the supply chain.

Making the Case for the PTI (FDA Public Meeting Oct. 16, 2008)

This presentation by PMA explains the genesis and rationale of the PTI’s solution to move the industry from its current internal traceability capability to achieve chainwide (external) traceability via standardized electronic case coding.

Produce Traceability Initiative Vendor Webinar

In an effort to get the hardware/software/service provider community engaged in the Produce Traceability Initiative, the three sponsoring trade associations (PMA, UFPA and CPMA) conducted a webinar on April 16th, 2009 to go over the milestones, timelines, best practices of the PTI and answer any questions. The webinar was well attended, with over 40 representatives from the vendor community.

Traceability Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to the questions that are most frequently asked about the PTI’s vision and action plan.

Produce Traceability Initiative versus DataBar

The Produce Traceability Initiative is unrelated to buyer-specific projects on the DataBar. Due to the confusion, this document was created to briefly explain the difference between the two. After reading this document, please refer to the PTI Toolkit for more details on the PTI and refer to the sponsoring trade association websites for more details on the DataBar ( PMA, CPMA, United Fresh ).

Traceability at the Item Level

The PTI Action Plan focuses on case-level traceability… but why? And what is the PTI’s position on item-level coding? Find out here.

Key Buyers Send Letter to Supplier Community

The attached letter was sent from key buyers (both retail and foodservice) to the supplier community showing their support and endorsement of the PTI. Included in this letter is their intent to follow the milestones and timelines, as well as their expectation for their supplier community to do the same.