Supplier opinion – supply chain gets together to ensure accurate food labelling

Product labelling has been prominent in the news of late, highlighting the critical importance of traceability in the supply chain.

However, the demand for more detailed and accurate product information has been on the radar of hospitality leaders for some time, as a result of pressure from consumers, EU and UK legislation and the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) agenda.

Accurate labelling derives from accurate product information. The FSDG's mission is to help businesses easily identify, capture and share this information, ensuring the right product is in the right place at the right time, and at the right cost.

In order to achieve this, the group wants all operators and suppliers to work together to establish a standard supply chain data management system.

This will help the industry to comply with the EU requirement that food businesses provide allergy information on unpackaged food by the end of 2014. It will also help tackle other key industry issues, including food waste.

The group has recently been joined by the British Frozen Food Federation and Fairway Foodservice, and GS1 UK has drafted a letter to suppliers this week strongly encouraging them to adopt Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) on all products.

Achieving this will be an important first step on the journey to accurate, reliable product information in the Food Service sector, which consumers, and operators demand.

Alaster Purchase, COO, GS1 UK