In October, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched its Global Strategy for Food Safety 2022–2030, setting ambitious but feasible targets for foodborne illness reduction. A key focus of the strategy is to improve the use of food chain information, supported by the request that each member state establish national guidance or codes of practice for food traceability.  

Robust food traceability systems serve several roles in advancing food safety and sustainability. Environmental sustainability efforts require knowledge of where food originates and how it travels through the supply chain. When aggregated and analyzed, product movement data sets can identify valuable trends and profound insights to combat food waste. Perhaps most relevant to illness reduction goals, digitized traceability data enable outbreak investigations while simultaneously facilitating swift and precise recalls that exclusively remove commercial products dangerous to public health.