WASHINGTON — An initiative aimed at developing new communications standards to support the integrity of traceability and country-of-origin-labeling (COOL) information for fresh products has been launched by the Association for Retail Technology Standards (ARTS), a division of the National Retail Federation here.
The ARTS Fresh Initiative is aimed at preserving the integrity of traceability information for a product such a cut of meat that may be reworked or rewrapped in the store.
“It’s a significant challenge to enact a recall [for fresh products], especially if the product is prepared in the store,” said Frank Urbaniak, consulting principal, C-Core Consulting Group, Sussex, N.J., who is a member of the initiative’s work team. “That’s why we need these standards. Messaging standards are what it’s going to take for the data to remain consistent in every part of the food preparation cycle.”
ARTS is seeking retailers to participate in its Fresh Initiative, said Urbaniak.
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