Food Traceability Made Simple with 2D Barcodes

In 2008 and 2009, the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) caused one of the worst food safety problems in the U.S. Salmonella from PCA’s products made hundreds sick and led to nine deaths. The problem got worse because PCA shipped contaminated peanut butter and peanut paste, often with incomplete or false records.

The situation became even worse because 3,913 other products from different brands used PCA peanuts as an ingredient. Contaminated products spread widely, making recalls slow. The financial damage to the peanut industry and those brands went over one billion dollars.

If there had been a full food traceability system, companies could have tracked every batch from farm to product. Contaminated lots could have been found quickly, recalls would have been faster, and fewer people would have gotten sick. 

So it raises three simple questions: What does traceability actually do? How does it work in practice? And how can 2D barcodes support it by making the flow of information faster and clearer?

Table of Contents

• What is Food Traceability?
• History of Traceability: Before 2D Barcodes
• FSMA and End-to-End Traceability with 2D Barcodes
• Importance of Food Traceability Beyond Product Recalls
• Key Objectives of Traceability Systems
• Procedures and Best Practices
• Accessible and Standardized Food Traceability
• FAQs
  • 1. Can you use a QR code for nutrition facts?
  • 2. How does traceable food contribute to sustainability and ESG goals?
  • 3. How do traceability systems using 2D barcodes help during a food recall?

What is Food Traceability?

Food traceability is the full record of a product’s path. It covers the movement and history of food items, including where each ingredient came from, how it was processed, and where it was stored or transported. It also shows where the product ends up, whether sold or given away, like donations and samples.

Most people think it’s the same with food tracking. Tracking focuses on the product’s current location or its most recent point in the chain. It represents only a small portion of the larger traceability system.

There are two main forms of tracing:

Backward tracing, or trace-back, moves from the finished product back to its starting point. For example, investigators may begin with contaminated food found in a store, then follow the steps in reverse to identify which processor handled it and which farm supplied the ingredients.

Forward tracing, or trace-forward, starts at the source and follows the product as it moves through the supply chain. If a farm is suspected of producing contaminated batches, forward tracing helps determine which processors, distributors, and stores received those items.

Together, forward and backward traceability create a resilient food supply chain that protects consumers, supports compliance, and helps build trust.

History of Traceability: Before 2D Barcodes

Early methods were simple and based on trust. Later systems depended on paper, then basic digital tools. Each period shaped how we trace food today and why better tools became necessary over time.

Phase 1: Pre-Industrial Era (Antiquity – Mid-19th Century): 

Traceability was simple, local, and based on trust. People knew where their food came from because supply chains were short and visible. 

A consumer bought grain from a local miller, who got it from a nearby farmer. Meat came from a local butcher, who slaughtered local animals. Identification was physical and direct.

Key Methods:

• Visual Recognition: Consumers knew the producer personally. Animals were often identified by unique markings.

• Brand Marks & Seals: Wooden casks, crates, or clay vessels sometimes bore a producer’s mark or town seal, showing origin but not the journey.

• Paper Bills of Lading: Used in maritime trade for bulk goods like spices or grain, listing shipper, quantity, and destination—a one-step-back trace.

Scope: The process was limited to a small area. It was mostly about commerce and basic origin, not safety.

Phase 2: Industrial Revolution to Mid-20th Century

With trains and steamships, food moved farther and faster. Supply chains lengthened, and consumers often didn’t know where their food came from. It became more about keeping inventory and documenting trade than about safety.

How it Worked:

• Paper-Based Lot Systems: Products were grouped by production day or source. A number on a box could link it to a factory and a specific day.

• Shipping Documents: Bills of lading, purchase orders, and invoices created a paper trail. Tracing meant digging through files across multiple companies.

• Early Labeling Laws: Laws like the UK Food Adulteration Act (1860) and the US Pure Food and Drug Act (1906) required some origin information but mainly focused on product content.

Scope: The process was slow, fragmented, and siloed. Each company mostly knew only its immediate supplier and customer. Full trace-backs could take days or weeks and were only attempted after problems were discovered.

Phase 3: Late 20th Century

Global trade and food safety scandals led governments to require traceability as a legal compliance tool. Companies needed faster ways to track products, mostly for recalls and risk management.

Key Methods:

• Barcodes (UPC and GS1 Standards): Products, cases, and pallets got unique, machine-readable codes, such as GTIN (Global Trade Item Number), SSCC (Serial Shipping Container Code), or GLNs (Global Location Number). This digitized batch tracking. 

However, detailed traceability data (lot codes, expiration dates) were often still printed separately and manually entered into systems, as 1D barcodes had limited data capacity.

• Electronic Data Interchange (EDI): Companies shared digital invoices and shipping notices, making the paper trail faster and more reliable.

• HACCP Plans: Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point systems require identifying critical steps in production, improving record-keeping.

Scope: The process became faster and more standardized, but it was still mostly “one step forward, one step back.” Each company kept its own records, so tracing a product through multiple companies was possible but not instantaneous.

Importance of Food Traceability Beyond Product Recalls

Traceability is more than just a tool for recalls. It is a backbone for modern food systems, helping businesses, regulators, and consumers. Here’s why it matters:

Supply Chain Transparency and Efficiency: Allows companies see their entire supply chain. They can spot bottlenecks, reduce waste, and plan better shipping routes. This helps with decisions about sourcing, inventory, and distribution.

Fraud Prevention and Authenticity: Food fraud costs billions every year. The system helps confirm that products are genuine. This is important for high-value items like organic produce, premium meats, or specialty foods. Consumers can be confident they are getting what they pay for.

Sustainability and Ethical Sourcing: Verify environmental and social claims, like those related to ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance). Companies can show that seafood is sustainably caught, workers are treated fairly, supply chains avoid deforestation, and carbon footprints are minimized. This builds trust with conscious consumers.

Quality Control and Brand Protection: Tracking products at every stage helps spot quality problems early. Companies can keep products consistent and protect their reputation. If something goes wrong, they can find exactly where in the supply chain the issue happened.

Regulatory Compliance and Market Access: Many countries now require traceability documents for imported foods. Meeting these rules, like those in the EU, allows access to international markets and shows a commitment to safety.

Consumer Empowerment: People want to know the story behind their food—where it came from, how it was made, and who handled it. Traceability systems, often using QR codes or digital links, give consumers this information, creating a stronger connection between producers and buyers.

To make consumer engagement stronger and product tracking easier, retail can embrace 2D barcodes. This change is a part of the GS1 Sunrise 2027 initiative, a global move to make shopping experiences (both offline and online) more efficient.

To get ready for this initiative, brands can either generate GS1‑compliant 2D barcodes themselves by following GS1’s official guidelines or use trusted third‑party tools like QR Tiger’s GS1 QR code generator.

Key Objectives of Traceability Systems

Traceability systems make food supply chains stronger by proving products are real, keeping companies accountable, and working more efficiently. They also provide useful data for better decisions. The key objectives are:

Verification: Traceability systems help confirm product authenticity and prevent food fraud. By using QR codes, businesses can ensure that every product is uniquely recognized across the supply chain. This lowers the chance of fake products and helps consumers trust the brand more.

Accountability: A robust traceability framework ensures responsibility at every stage of the supply chain. From producers to distributors, each stakeholder records standardized data, creating a clear record of product movement. This accountability helps businesses meet regulatory requirements and show they act ethically.

Efficiency: The systems make recalls faster by quickly finding the affected food and removing it from supply chains. This cuts waste, lowers financial losses, and protects public health.

Data-driven insights: Traceability systems generate valuable data for supply chain management. Businesses can study this data to predict demand, manage inventory better, and report on sustainability. GS1 standards make this data accessible, helping businesses make smarter decisions.

Procedures and Best Practices

Building a traceable food system requires clear procedures and consistent best practices across the supply chain. These steps ensure safety, compliance, and consumer trust:

Standard operating procedures (SOPs): Traceable food relies on clear documentation, accurate labeling, and consistent record‑keeping. Using QR codes helps companies capture data at every stage. This makes information easy to share across partners and helps companies follow regulations such as the FDA’s FSMA Rule 204 and EU food safety directives.

Technology adoption: Modern traceability systems use advanced tools to keep supply chains safe and transparent. Blockchain creates records that cannot be changed, building trust. IoT sensors track conditions like temperature and humidity in real time to protect food during transport. 

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags allow automatic tracking of product batches, while GS1 QR code gives instant access to product details for shoppers and regulators. Together, these technologies make supply chains more reliable and connected.

Training and audits: Building a culture of traceability requires ongoing training for staff and regular audits. Internal audits verify compliance with SOPs, while external audits (for example, ISO 22000 certifications) demonstrate credibility to regulators and consumers.

Training ensures that employees understand how to capture and share traceability data correctly, while audits identify gaps and drive continuous improvement.

Accessible and Standardized Food Traceability

Food traceability is essential for modern supply chains, ensuring food safety, regulatory compliance, and consumer trust. By tracking products from farm to fork, businesses can act quickly in case of contamination and strengthen transparency.

Robust traceability systems are now essential for businesses to protect consumers and build brand reputation. Using GS1 QR codes in traceable food systems helps connect global supply chains, engage consumers, meet food labeling regulations, and make recalls easier.

FAQs

1. Can you use a QR code for nutrition facts?

Yes, QR codes can be used to provide nutrition facts on food labels. QR codes powered by GS1 embed standardized product identifiers (like GTIN) and connect to trusted databases. This ensures that nutrition data is accessible, accurate, and compliant with labeling rules.

2. How does traceable food contribute to sustainability and ESG goals?

ESG standards are used to measure how responsibly a company operates. Environmental goals focus on decreasing carbon footprints, resource conservation, and waste management. Social goals deal with how businesses treat people (consumers, communities, and workers). They ensure safety, fairness, and ethical practices.

Governance goals focus on compliance with legal standards, transparent management, and ethical responsibility.

Standardized traceability systems allow companies to capture and share product data across the entire value chain, from raw materials to end‑of‑life. This helps reduce food waste, optimize packaging, and support recycling initiatives.

By documenting supply chain practices, businesses can show ESG compliance and improve sustainability reporting.

3. How do traceability systems using 2D barcodes help during a food recall?

Traceability systems let companies quickly find and remove only the affected batches. They track key details like batch numbers, production dates, and distribution paths, reducing risk to consumers and limiting financial losses. Scanning a 2D barcode can trigger alerts in POS systems or on smartphones, stopping sales or warning consumers. 

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