ReposiTrak, a major provider of supply chain, food safety, and supplier management technology solutions, is waiving the $2,000 setup fee for food suppliers connecting to the ReposiTrak Traceability Network. The Network, which is the focus of the recently announced partnership with the National Grocers Association (NGA), is the easiest way for suppliers and their wholesaler and retailer customers to share traceability data that will be required by a new U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rule for high-risk foods, scheduled to be issued this month.
The partnership brings traceability resources to NGA’s independent grocer and wholesaler members, who represent more than one-third of U.S. grocery retail sales.
Complimentary access to the ReposiTrak Traceability Network provides food suppliers with the opportunity to become traceability ready at no cost, making traceability easier for them as well as their retailer/wholesaler customers, said the company in a press release.
“Without the ReposiTrak Traceability Network, the new requirements under the Food Safety Modernization Act Section 204 will become a recordkeeping and data management nightmare for suppliers and their customers,” said ReposiTrak Chairman and CEO Randy Fields. “Through automation and our proven supply chain technology, the Network simplifies the creation and sharing of the Key Data Element records required by the FDA.”
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The process to join the Network takes less than one hour, and for a limited time, ReposiTrak will waive the initial setup fees for food industry suppliers.
Once data exchange begins, suppliers will pay a flat fee for unlimited records creation and Key Data Element sharing with their in-network trading partners.
“The FDA has made it clear that the current list of foods that will require end-to-end traceability is just the beginning, as they encourage voluntary adoption of traceability practices industry-wide. The ReposiTrak Traceability Network can support mass-scale traceability records creation and retention at a cost that is less than most companies spend on EDI,” continued Fields. “We think of traceability readiness as a brand differentiator, which is a message we will take to retailers via our partnership with NGA.”
In a step toward industry-wide adoption, the ReposiTrak Traceability Network recently gained momentum through its partnership with NGA, which represents more than 1,700 independent supermarket operators accounting for nearly 9,000 storefronts.
The solution is built on the world’s largest compliance network, and its development was guided by the Food Traceability Leadership Consortium, a group of industry trade organizations, wholesalers, and retailers that set out the objective for ReposiTrak to develop the easiest and least expensive solution that meets and exceeds FSMA 204 requirements.
“Today’s food system has become increasingly complex with many stakeholders spanning global to regional and local levels. At the same time, there is increased public awareness of recalls and expanded government regulations, making it imperative for retailers to be even more focused on product sourcing and food safety standards from farm to fork,” said Laura Strange, senior vice president of communications and external affairs at NGA.
“The ReposiTrak Traceability Network is an essential solution that will help our members and their trading partners meet the new federal regulations and take advantage of many other benefits they’ll see from knowing exactly where products are at all times,” Strange added.
Suppliers interested in the ReposiTrak program should contact Derek Hannum ([email protected]).