ConcernTrak, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, launched its traceability service in Mexico on May 17th at the Produce Marketing Association’s “Fresh Connections” event held in Guadalajara. ConcernTrak has partnered with Etytec, a leading Mexican reseller of printers, labels and supply chain logistics solutions. Etytec will market ConcernTrak’s traceability service, and provide training and technical support to ConcernTrak’s customers through its network of locations throughout Mexico.
According to Mary Smith, Vice President of Business Development for ConcernTrak “It’s important that we focus on Mexico from the very beginning, because Mexican farmers and distributors will be facing even more scrutiny than domestic operations when it comes to adhering to food safety standards and implementing traceability”.
The Food Safety Modernization Act, which was signed in January 2011 and contains provisions for traceability which will come into force over the next several months, also affects imported fruits and vegetables. According to Ed Treacy, head of the Produce Traceability Initiative co-sponsored by the Produce Marketing Association, “The attitude that I’ve seen among Mexican growers and exporters is that they feel they must be even more proactive about traceability than companies in the United States, because they face greater scrutiny.”
The ConcernTrak system, available in English and Spanish, was designed to enable small and medium sized companies to implement traceability requirements for food products.
During the Guadalajara trip, Smith met with potential clients and government officials from the states of Michoacan, Sinaloa, and Jalisco. Future plans include traceability seminars which will be conducted in conjunction with the local Departments of Agriculture in various regions of Mexico. “In talking with the attendees at Fresh Connections, we found that Mexican farmers and distributors know they have to implement traceability, but they aren’t sure how to do it. By providing information and local technical support, we can help the small to medium Mexican companies who want to export their fruits and vegetables to the United States.” Smith said.
Source: ConcernTrak, Inc.
