In this way, he created Agtrace-food, a platform to assure that the exports satisfied chemical standards from importers countries. “In many food products, like peanuts and legumes, it is not only important the physical qualities (color, diameter, size) but chemical ones, related to the Maximum Residue Levels, which could remain in the grain after the utilization of agrochemicals”, Poletti explains.
The Agtrace-food platform is able to know how the crop was produced and stored, from the fallow to the post-harvest. “The software incorporates geo-referenced information of the farm, the variety or hybrid planted, the chemicals applied during the fallow and the growing stages, and the post-harvest lab analysis. This information permits access to complete records of how the grain was produced”, Mr. Poletti explains.
Livestock traceability key to South Africa beef driving exports
But the most interesting aspect of the software is its alarm system. As the operators must input information about dose applied, product, brand, etcetera, the software match this information with the standards both of local regulatory authorities as importers ones, and shots the alarm if, for example, the active ingredient is not authorized for the importer country for that crop, or if there is a risk to surpass the MRL. “It is possible that the active principle is authorized by the Argentinian authorities but not by the European ones, or it is possible that the dose applied surpasses the recommended, or that minimum waiting period between application and harvest was not respected”, Poletti exemplifies.
“The software suggests, based on this data, how to group the batches in order to the hybrid, variety and active ingredient used. The processing plant operator is able to manage the food storage in the most efficient mode with this information and provide traceability to the product. In this way, we are able to avoid that a certain batch goes to the inappropriate market”, Poletti concludes.
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.
Food traceability is the ability to follow the movement of a food product and its ingredients through all steps in the supply chain, both backward and forward. Traceability involves documenting and linking the production, processing, and distribution chain of food products and ingredients
Traceability processes ensure that foods are traced and tracked throughout the supply chain. Traceability is vitally important for food safety as well as operational efficiency. ... With traceability, it's possible to locate a product at any stage of the food chain and within the supply chain.
