Alphanumerical and Optical Coding Systems for Food Traceability

As food supply chains become more complex and both global trade and large-scale production bring about new health and safety challenges, large industrial stakeholders and governments react with introducing or mandating traceability measures to limit health risks induced by contaminated material and losses due to subsequent recall actions. Since the early 2000s, the food industry witnessed the introduction of strict traceability regulations on various levels of governance, and currently, national, regional, and global networks and services are being rolled out to enable end-to-end traceability in food supply chains. In parallel to these efforts, advances in identifier, sensor, and indicator technology, as well as changes in consumer communities, are setting the stage for further development within the food industry, as well as in the interaction of industry and end consumers. A summary of these recent developments is given here, highlighting potentials, critical points, expected trends, and interdependencies of this changing domain.