Traceability Efforts in the Produce Industry Continue to Build Momentum as the Obama Administration Calls for National Trace-Back System to Improve Food Safety
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., July 20, 2009--(BUSINESS WIRE)--YottaMark, Inc., the leader in traceability and authentication solutions, today announced that adoption of HarvestMark has crossed the half-billion mark. More than 500 million produce items and cases are now HarvestMark-enabled to deliver trace-back capabilities to produce buyers and consumers. Dozens of produce brands across the U.S. and Mexico use HarvestMark as their traceability platform to speed response to food safety events and provide new brand and product information across the supply chain, all the way to consumers’ homes.
Traceability is a burning issue for the produce industry, and one that is being addressed with coordinated programs such as the Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI) to help drive changes to improve whole chain traceability and enhance food safety response programs. Groups such as the National Watermelon Association have published commodity specific food safety guidelines that include traceability. The recent announcement from the Obama Administration’s Food Safety Working Group (FSWG), which includes the recommendation for a national trace-back and response system, and the food safety legislation pending in Congress, underscore the role of traceability in shortening the time between outbreak detection, resolution, and recovery. The PTI sets out a timeline for industry adoption. To comply with these new industry requirements, grower/shippers are deploying the HarvestMark® PTI solution to simplify and speed the assignment of Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) and apply PTI-compliant labels quickly and efficiently on all produce cases. HarvestMark PTI systems can be used at the packing line, in repacking operations, in the field or at the distribution center to automatically capture key harvest, packing and repacking data, and produce the right traceability label at the right time. Traceability and product information is available on-demand to producers and buyers via the secure HarvestMark.com portal.
In addition consumers want to know that their food is fresh, safe, and where it comes from. Brand owners seek to connect meaningfully with their customers and the end consumer, gathering valuable quality and preference data to enhance product and category management. HarvestMark is the innovative platform that creates this new connection. Today producers and consumers have instant access to information about hundreds of millions of traceable items through HarvestMark.com. From the story of the brand and farmer profiles, to nutrition, food safety, and regional information, HarvestMark enables new connections in the store, on a mobile phone, and at home.
Adoption of the HarvestMark system continues to grow as traceability becomes an essential tool for food safety and customer management across the perishables supply chain:
•HarvestMark traceability can be found today on over 500 million produce packages – including berries, watermelons, peppers, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, cucumbers, and table grapes
•Over 50 produce brands across the U.S. and Mexico are using HarvestMark for their item and/or case-level traceability needs
•Thousands of consumers, for the first time, have been able to trace their produce back to the point of origin, learn about the brand and grower, and give direct feedback about a specific item to the grower/shipper
“We were encouraged to see that the Obama Administration’s report echoes the requirements articulated by produce commodity groups and the PTI, validating the efforts already underway by the produce industry and HarvestMark customers on both item- and case-level traceability,” said J. Scott Carr, president and CEO, YottaMark. “The HarvestMark solution helps speed response to food safety events and narrows the impact of future recalls by providing fast on-demand access to product information. And the new connection created by HarvestMark enhances consumer confidence and brings new and valuable relationships to producers and food brands, creating value for grower/shippers. We’re excited to achieve the half-billion milestone and look forward to continuing to act as our customers trusted partner for traceability as new rules and standards take shape.”
HarvestMark is the leading traceability solution for produce. HarvestMark delivers item-level and PTI-compliant case-level traceability that provides instant access to harvest, distribution, quality, and food safety information, when and where it’s needed. To learn more about HarvestMark, visit www.HarvestMark.com or call 1-866-76-TRUST (or +1.650.264.6200).
About YottaMark, Inc.
YottaMark, Inc. specializes in product traceability and authentication solutions that deliver valuable business intelligence when and where it’s needed. Leading companies in the fresh foods, electronics and consumer goods industries rely on YottaMark’s robust traceability platform to conduct precise trace back, enhance communication, and increase security in their supply chain.
HarvestMark®, the fresh food traceability solution from YottaMark, is the industry’s fastest growing traceability application. To date, over 500 million produce packages have been enabled with HarvestMark Codes to speed response to suspected recall events and deliver on-demand product information throughout the supply chain.
Designed for field- and line-packed produce, HarvestMark offers a complete suite of traceability solutions, including case and item-level. It accommodates a wide range of workflows with an open platform for seamless integration with existing systems. HarvestMark supports a variety of packaging formats making it quick to deploy with no interruption to business operations.
YottaMark is a privately held company headquartered in Redwood City, Calif. More information can be found at www.YottaMark.com and www.HarvestMark.com.