In this scenario the supply chain consists of a number of stages in sequence, from the harvest bed of the oysters, through the purification establishment, the shellfish merchant and to the restaurant serving the oysters to the diners. In this case study the November incident is used to illustrate traceability in the supply chain. The January incidents were associated with a more complex supply chain as a number of different restaurants, merchants, purification establishments and oyster beds were involved. However, the principles of traceability and record keeping and the linkages between them in respect of the one step back and one step forward are the same.
The focus is on traceability based on the one step back and one step forward approach by each food business in the supply chain, oyster bed to restaurant. The analysis involves identifying details of the identification read, the information recorded and the identification applied at each process step that might be used to establish traceability.
The supply chain for the November incident is illustrated in slide 3. The January incident would however be a more complex supply chain involving multiple businesses.
One-step back gives details of the materials received into the business. In this case study the oyster bed, purification establishment, the shellfish merchant and the restaurant.
The one-step forward gives details of the product supplied to another business. In this case study the oyster bed, purification business and shellfish merchant. The restaurant (retailer) is serving the oysters to the end consumer and not another business.
In addition certain process data is available for the batch of oysters at the purification establishment. This illustrates process traceability where relevant process parameters are recorded by a business and through internal traceability are linked to a batch of product.