FDA proposes new end-to-end food traceability rule

The FDA has proposed a new rule that lays the foundation for the end-to-end food traceability across the food industry that it will be working toward over the next decade as part of the New Era of Smarter Food Safety initiative.

The FDA defines traceability as “the ability to track a food at every step of the supply chain.” While limited to certain foods, this proposed rule would create a first-of-its-kind standardized approach to traceability recordkeeping, paving the way for industry to adopt and leverage more digital, tech-enabled traceability systems both in the near term and the future.

The FDA are also released a draft Food Traceability List that identifies foods to which the additional recordkeeping requirements would apply.