8 Best Food Traceability Software Solutions for Producers

Food traceability has been in the limelight lately and the truth is, it should always be.

The FSMA 204(d) Final Rule in particular has the clock ticking for any business that works with items on the Food Traceability List. As a result, many food companies are searching for food traceability systems that will help make food safer while supporting their business goals.

But we understand that the food industry is diverse and finding the best food traceability software can be overwhelming. So we've curated a list to help focus your efforts as you try to improve your food traceability process.

Here's the best food traceability software system to consider

1. FoodDocs

FoodDocs provides an all-in-one food traceability solution tailored for SME food producers, processors, and distributors. The food traceability system has core features that are especially beneficial for central kitchens, ready-to-eat food production, beverage production, bakeries, butcheries, and more. It simplifies compliance with food safety regulations and ensures efficient recall management.

Key traceability features of FoodDocs Traceability system

• Fully customizable traceability workflows: Allows businesses to tailor traceability workflows to their specific needs, enhancing flexibility and operational efficiency. For example, to start completing a traceability log with UPC or EAN codes, you can do the scanning of ingredients using the FoodDocs mobile app.
  
  
• Real-time monitoring: Enables continuous tracking of production processes, providing immediate insights, hazard control alerts, and corrective actions to prevent potential food safety incidents.
  
  
• Supplier receiving log: Allows team members tasked with receiving to record the date, quantity, and quality of the inbound supplier ingredients, chilled or otherwise.
  
  
• Recipe management: Automates batch calculations and allergen identification, which helps streamline recipe consistency and production while reducing errors.
  
  
• Shelf-life tracker: Calculates and manages product expiration dates automatically, ensuring accurate labeling and reducing food wastage.
  
  
• Secure compliance documentation: Generates all necessary compliance documents automatically, reducing the risk of human error and ensuring up-to-date records. You can also conduct internal audits to stay compliant with standards like HACCP, GMP, GFSI, SQF, BRCGS, FSMA, and more. Once complete, we'll save it securely with our File Storage feature.

Free trial: 14 days
Pricing: Starting at $2999/year
Available on: Web, iOS, Android

2. 3iVerify

3iVerify specializes in digital food safety compliance and traceability, particularly beneficial for small to medium-sized food manufacturers, importers, and processors. It integrates traceability into an overall food safety and quality management system, providing a seamless approach to managing food safety risks.

Key traceability features of 3iVerify

• Integrated traceability: Captures batch lot numbers during routine checks, ensuring up-to-date records and quick identification of raw materials and finished products. This integration helps to manage recalls efficiently.
• Corrective actions module: Links traceability with corrective actions, allowing businesses to analyze performance and automate recall processes, improving response times and minimizing risks.
• Automated data capture: Ensures traceability data is automatically recorded as part of staff routines, reducing manual entry errors and ensuring compliance with audit requirements.
• Supplier and product tracking: Tracks raw material batches from suppliers to finished products, providing detailed insights into the supply chain and ensuring compliance with food safety industry standards.

Free trial: Not available
Pricing: $250/month/user (according to Capterra)
Available on: Web

3. Kelsius (FoodCheck 2.0)

Kelsius provides automated food safety and compliance monitoring through its FoodCheck 2.0 system, designed for large enterprises and multi-site operations in the food service and healthcare industries.

Key traceability features of Kelsius

• Traceability module: Manage the shelf life of your products with built in reminders to discard of product once it is out of date.
• 24/7 temperature monitoring: Ensures continuous monitoring and recording of temperatures, alerting staff to any deviations and ensuring compliance with safety standards.
• HACCP compliance: Automates HACCP management by recording critical control points, reducing the need for manual data entry and ensuring accurate record-keeping.

Free trial: No
Pricing: Not available on website
Available on: Web, iOS, Android

4. FoodReady

FoodReady provides a comprehensive food traceability software solution designed for small to medium-sized food producers, processors, and manufacturers. It helps businesses manage their entire traceability process efficiently, ensuring compliance with FSMA and other regulatory requirements.

Key traceability features of FoodReady

• Inventory management: Tracks inventory in real-time, allowing businesses to manage stock levels efficiently and reduce waste. It includes automatic updates on inventory changes and detailed tracking of all ingredients and products.
• Barcode scanning: Utilizes GS1 standard barcodes for accurate and efficient tracking of products through the supply chain, enhancing traceability and reducing errors.
• Recall plan and mock recall management: Provides tools to create and manage recall plans, ensuring businesses are prepared for potential recalls. Mock recall testing can be conducted to test the plan's effectiveness.
• Batch management: Manages batches from production to distribution, ensuring detailed tracking and traceability of each batch. This helps in maintaining product quality and simplifies the recall process.

Free trial: 14 days
Pricing: Not available on website
Available on: Web, iOS and Android (depending on plan)

Check out the in-depth comparison of FoodReady vs FoodDocs.

5. Safefood360

Safefood360 offers a comprehensive traceability module designed for medium to large food producers and processors. It integrates seamlessly with other food safety management systems, making it ideal for enterprises that need to ensure compliance with stringent food safety standards.

Key traceability features of Safefood360

• Traceability audits: Enables scheduling and conducting of regular traceability audits to ensure compliance with GFSI standards. This feature helps businesses maintain an up-to-date and accurate traceability system.
• Ingredient and product testing: Provides tools to test the traceability of both ingredients and final products as they move through the supply chain, ensuring full visibility and control.
• Workflow alignment with GFSI requirements: Ensures that all traceability processes are aligned with GFSI requirements, helping businesses meet global food safety standards.
• Automated scheduling: Allows for the automatic scheduling of traceability tests and audits, reducing manual workload and ensuring regular compliance checks.

Free trial: Not available
Pricing: Not available on website
Available on: Web, iOS, Android

6. FoodLogiQ

FoodLogiQ is designed to enhance traceability and compliance for food producers, processors, and distributors of all sizes. It helps businesses align with FSMA 204 requirements and improve food supply chain transparency.

Key traceability features of FoodLogiQ

• Lot-level traceability: Tracks products at a batch-lot level both forward and backward along the supply chain, facilitating quick withdrawal procedures and root cause analysis.
• Real-time data sharing: Captures and shares critical tracking event (CTE) data, ensuring compliance with FSMA 204 and enabling quick access to traceability information when needed.
• Root cause analysis: Helps identify and address the root causes of food safety incidents, improving overall food safety efforts.

Free Trial: Not available
Pricing: Starting at $32,000/year (according to Capterra)
Available on: Web

7. Navitas Safety

Navitas Safety provides a comprehensive allergen management solution suitable for small to medium-sized food businesses, including catering, retail, and manufacturing. The solution helps manage allergens and ensure compliance with food safety standards.

Key traceability features of Navitas Safety

• Ingredient traceability: Tracks all ingredients from supplier to plate, with allergen data automatically logged into the system, ensuring complete traceability and accountability.
• Printable allergen labels: Easily prints allergen labels from tablets, mobile devices, or food probes, helping businesses comply with regulations like Natasha’s Law.
• Food safety documentation: Stores all compliance and due diligence evidence in one place, making it easy to access and demonstrate compliance during inspections.

Free trial: Not available
Pricing: £90/month/user (according to Capterra)
Available on: Web, iOS, Android

8. JustFood ERP (from Aptean Food & Beverage ERP)

JustFood ERP provides integrated traceability and ERP solutions tailored for food manufacturers of all sizes, particularly beneficial for mid-sized to large enterprises. It helps companies streamline their operations and ensure compliance with food safety standards.

Key traceability features of JustFood ERP

• Quality audits and checks: Enables mandatory quality audits from pre-receipt of materials to shipment, supporting initiatives like SQF, BRC, FSMA, and GFSI. This ensures compliance and quality throughout the production process.
• Batch and lot tracking: Tracks batches from production to distribution, ensuring detailed traceability of each batch. This helps maintain product quality and simplifies the recall process.
• Warehouse management: Provides tools for managing inventory, including lot tracking, expiration date management, and physical counts, enhancing overall inventory accuracy and efficiency.
• Production management: Manages production scheduling, batch processing, and consolidation, breaking down barriers between departments for more efficient production and distribution.

Free Trial: Information not available
Pricing: $120,000/month (according to Capterra)
Available on: Web

While a single business likely won't have visibility into the entire supply chain, everyone using one of the best food traceability software solutions will help government organizations and other health authorities find recalled products in question, and even prevent future recall events.

What is food traceability software?

Food traceability software enables companies to track and document the production, processing, and distribution of food products. This technology in food traceability provides a digital trail that helps producers quickly respond to safety issues, optimize supply chain operations, and ensure compliance with food safety standards.

In light of the United States' Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) regulations, for example, businesses need to be able to know and record where food items came from and where they went. And soon.

On this topic, Sara Bratager, a Food Traceability and Food Safety Scientist at the Global Food Traceability Center at the Institute of Food Technologists, said:

Policy plays a major role in the advancement of traceability. Effective traceability systems have proven beneficial in a myriad of ways, but those benefits are not sufficient incentives for most industry actors to take on the burden of end-to-end traceability implementation. Regulatory requirements are needed to motivate widespread adoption.

What are the benefits of using food safety software for traceability?

Enhanced safety and quality control

Food traceability software allows companies to quickly identify and isolate contaminated products, reducing the risk of foodborne illnesses. This proactive approach ensures that any potential issues are addressed before they reach the consumer, maintaining high safety and quality standards.

Regulatory compliance with food industry standards

Staying compliant with food safety regulations such as FSMA, HACCP, and ISO standards can be complex. Traceability software helps maintain accurate inventory control and generates necessary documentation automatically, simplifying compliance processes and reducing the risk of non-compliance penalties.

Supply chain transparency

By providing end-to-end visibility into the supply chain, a good food traceability tool allows companies to monitor every stage, from raw materials to finished products. This transparency helps in identifying bottlenecks, optimizing processes, and ensuring that all components meet safety and quality requirements.

Recall management

In the event of a product recall, traceability software enables companies to quickly trace and withdraw affected products from the market. This efficient recall management minimizes the impact on the business and consumers, protecting the company’s reputation and reducing potential liabilities.

Operational efficiency

Streamlining production processes through traceability software reduces waste and enhances overall operational efficiency. By automating data collection and analysis, companies can make more informed decisions, improve resource allocation, and boost productivity.

What capabilities should the best food traceability software have?

Real-time data tracking

The ability to monitor and record data in real-time provides immediate insights into the production process. This capability ensures that any issues are detected and addressed promptly, maintaining continuous control over product quality and safety.

Automated alerts and notifications

Automated alerts notify staff of potential issues or deviations from set standards as soon as they occur. This feature helps in quickly addressing problems, reducing downtime, and ensuring consistent adherence to safety protocols.

Detailed reporting capabilities

Generating detailed reports for audits, compliance, and performance analysis is crucial for maintaining high standards. Comprehensive reporting tools help companies track their progress, identify areas for improvement, and provide evidence of compliance during inspections.

Integration with other systems

From meat producers to beverage companies and near everything in between, seamless food safety integrations will allow for the efficient flow or data and movement of food products. and cohesive management of business operations. This integration ensures that traceability data complements other critical business processes, enhancing overall efficiency.

User-friendly interface

An intuitive user interface ensures that all team members, from production staff to quality managers, can easily navigate and utilize the software. This accessibility improves user adoption, reduces training time, and ensures that the software’s full capabilities are leveraged.

We hope the details above make your search for the best food traceability software for your business easier and more efficient.

In terms of next steps, give food traceability tools a try if there's a free trial or book a quick demo to see how it works. This will enrich your search for the best food traceability software and allow you to make the right decision.