A strategic framework to analyze traceability systems in the food industry and its correlation with food quality

The food industry plays an essential role for people all over the world due to its nature of satisfying the necessities for existence, but moreover, being important for health and pleasure. The food crises had a significant role on the enhancement of customer awareness towards food quality. In addition to consumer demand regarding the quality assurance, regulations have been placed to guarantee the food safety. This research study aims at understanding the role of digital innovations on the food quality and how to enhance quality aspects through innovative traceability solutions. To better accomplish the goal, a theoretical framework, the Food Quality Heptagon, to analyze companies’ food quality strategies have been introduced. After having analyzed the traceability systems as a means to support food quality, a more comprehensive framework to analyze food traceability systems which includes previously introduced food quality aspects is introduced. 100 case studies from all over the world has been analyzed through the introduced framework to analyze the traceability systems and performed an elaborated analysis of use cases (AlmavivA, Frontera Produce, Oleficcio Zucchi Penelope, Serre Neutreseitiche) to demonstrate how traceability can support each aspect of the Food Quality Heptagon. The findings have been further strengthened through the interviews, conference calls and workshops held by Smart AgriFood Observatory. It has been found that digital innovations adopted by traceability solutions can provide various benefits to the food companies, particularly, time-based, monetary-based, improvement of product quality, better data management, improvement in recall management, contribution to sustainability, customer satisfaction, withstand counterfeiting, brand image protection. Additionally, The Food Quality Heptagon has revealed the lack of alignment among the different division in the same company in terms of the strategy of the food quality on the same product.