Another weekly excursion to the grocery store, and I am approaching this trip as an adventure. The duration of my trips is increasing as I explore the origins of my food purchases. I want to know where the raw materials that go into my food have been produced, and that they have been transported in a safe manner that protects the integrity of the food. These thoughts consume my time as I put on my reading glasses to peruse the vast amount of information on the labels.
We are in an information- and data-rich global market. It is amazing on how much information is available to processors and consumers. Raw materials, ingredients and products are sourced from myriad locations around the globe. With source locations increasing, the logistics and supply chains are expanding and therefore becoming more complex. This complexity of global food-supply chains can be logically processed to continually improve the integrity and food safety of products. To simplify the complexity of food chains, one needs to explore links in the chains, material information and audits.