

By: Kristiner Taylor, Marketing & Communications Coordinator, Cimcorp
Every year, an estimated 600 million people around the world get sick from eating unsafe food. In Canada alone, 4 million people are affected by food-borne illness. These cases range from mild to severe, and they can result in hospitalizations or even death. With Canada among the top 10 food exporting countries, the nation’s food processors are on the front lines of protecting the health and safety of consumers domestically and across the globe.
A key pillar of food safety is traceability, the ability to track raw ingredients and food products from their origins to final destinations. For food processors, maintaining accurate and detailed traceability records is more than a regulatory necessity. It’s a must for protecting consumer safety, upholding brand reputation, and building a trustworthy and resilient food supply chain.
Traceability: A critical responsibility
Canada is known globally for its high food safety standards. The Safe Food for Canadians Regulations require food businesses to maintain robust traceability records. Traceability documents must:
- Identify the food item, as well as the party who manufactured, prepared, produced, stored, packaged or labelled the food
- Provide a lot code or unique identifier to trace the food
- Trace the food one step back to the immediate supplier
- Trace the food one step forward to the next destination
Food businesses must maintain traceability records for two years. Plus, the records must be easily accessible for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency when requested. When a food safety incident occurs, regulators and businesses use the documents to quickly identify and remove unsafe food from the supply chain.
Beyond adhering to Canadian standards, food processors must also understand and comply with the food safety regulations of their export destinations. When exporting to the United States, for example, processors must comply with the Food Safety Modernization Act, particularly the Foreign Supplier Verification Program. They need to meet the same U.S. food safety standards as domestic producers, including maintaining detailed records of every product’s journey through the supply chain.
For food processors, these stringent food safety regulations mean tracking the movement of ingredients and finished products through complex, high-volume operations. Compliance can be especially challenging for processors that rely on manual distribution processes. When workers handle, track, and document all product movements by hand, there’s a much greater risk of data entry errors, missing records, and delays in responding to food safety events.
To overcome these challenges, more food processors are introducing logistics automation into their processing facilities and distribution centers (DCs).
The automation advantage
Automated order fulfillment solutions can manage the distribution end of food processing operations, taking over product handling tasks as soon as food comes off the processing line or enters the DC. Robots and intelligent software work together to optimize the movement of food through storage, order picking, and shipping, while enhancing data collection and traceability along the way.
Here’s how it works:
- All food products are tagged with unique barcodes linked to important data such as lot codes, production dates, and origin.
- Robotic systems then transport these products through each stage of distribution with high speed and precision.
- Automated software captures and logs critical traceability data at every step, building a complete digital record that accurately tracks every product’s journey.
With logistics automation, food processors remove human error from the equation. They gain an efficient, consistent, and highly accurate approach to capturing and maintaining traceability data. When needed, food processors can easily retrieve necessary documentation to demonstrate compliance with food safety standards.
In the event of a contamination issue or recall, automated systems enable processors to act fast. They can immediately access detailed product histories, identify affected batches, trace their distribution paths, and remove those products from the supply chain and store shelves.
This fast and targeted response minimizes the costs and negative effects of a food safety incident. Food businesses can avoid unnecessary product waste, protect their brand reputation, and prevent unsafe food from harming consumers.
Enhancing consumer confidence
The benefits of automation-enhanced traceability extend beyond tackling food safety incidents.
Today’s consumers are increasingly concerned about where their food comes from and how it’s produced. Processors can share detailed product information such as:
- Farm or supplier of origin
- Certifications for attributes like “organic” and “non-GMO”
- Production and distribution dates
With access to comprehensive information about the food on store shelves, shoppers can make informed purchasing decisions that align with their personal values. This level of transparency builds consumer confidence in specific brands and products, as well as strengthens the public’s trust in the food system as a whole.
Strengthening supply chain partnerships
Enhanced traceability also fosters stronger relationships between supply chain partners. When growers, processors, distributors, and retailers alike have access to the same data, it drives trust and accountability across the entire supply chain. Everyone can verify that safety standards are being met, that products are what they claim to be, and that each party is doing its part to protect consumer health.
Upstream suppliers and processors are held accountable through documented records, encouraging honest and responsible practices. Downstream food retailers can make sure they select suppliers whose practices and products align with their own priorities. This traceability-backed assurance supports long-lasting business relationships, which are essential for thriving in today’s complex and competitive food industry.
Supporting sustainability goals
With greater visibility across their supply chains, food processors can make decisions and improvements that align with their broader sustainability goals. When it comes to reducing food waste, for example, companies can minimize overproduction and rotate stock more effectively to prevent spoilage.
Traceability also helps create more responsible supply chains. Food businesses can avoid sourcing from regions where worker rights violations are common and make sure they only work with suppliers that follow ethical practices.
Building a safer, smarter food industry
Today’s food processors have a responsibility to lead the way in safety. By integrating automation into their distribution processes, they can enhance traceability, protect public health, and support a stronger food system.
As the food industry evolves, processors equipped with automation will be ready to adapt quickly, work efficiently, and continue to deliver safe, high-quality foods.