In December 2023, Kroger announced its traceability program, requiring additional traceability recordkeeping for ALL FOODS entering its facilities to “ensure the safety of food supply for every customer.”

Other industry giants – including Walmart – have also made the decision to require traceability for all foods, extending beyond the requirements of the FDA’s FSMA 204 food traceability law. ReposiTrak can help you to take your traceability data to any of your retail, wholesale or restaurant customers to meet their unique requirements.

The goal of traceability, according to the FDA, is the “faster identification and rapid removal of potentially contaminated food from the market, resulting in fewer foodborne illnesses and/or death.” As a result, every food supplier, retailer, wholesaler and restaurant in the country is now part of the largest data collaboration project in the history.

If you’d like to talk to an expert at ReposiTrak about traceability for your company, please fill out the form below.

Traceability starts with the supplier

Traceability is the process of using data to permanently document a product’s path through the supply chain from its point of origin, through every stage of production and distribution, and ultimately to the place where it’s sold to the end consumer.

If your customer requires traceability, you – the supplier – are required to DO traceability now. Failing to comply (or simply under-complying) with the traceability requirements of your customers could jeopardize the relationships you’ve built with them. Additionally, you could be hurting your chances of building new relationships with other major retailers or wholesalers – like Target or Sysco – that you’d hoped to have in the future.

What are Kroger’s requirements for suppliers?

Kroger requires specific traceability data to be shared for every shipment. The data elements required include, but are not limited to:

  • The 14-digit GTIN assigned to the food
  • The Traceability Lot Code (TLC)
  • The TLC reference document type and reference document number
  • Packs per case
  • Unit of measure code of the food inside the case
  • The date shipped
  • At least one of the following dates: Pack date, expiration date, best before date, or production/harvest date

Kroger requires its suppliers to follow these steps to meet their requirements:

  • Adhere to Kroger’s EDI 856 ASN guideline – document can be found on edi.kroger.com, Kroger EDI 856 Specifications.
  • Transmit an EDI 856 ASN document for every shipment of products to any Kroger facilities.
  • Align your logistic unit requirements to match Attachment A: Kroger Track and Trace Supply Chain Receiving Specifications.
  • Certify palletized barcode labels on the physical products arriving at the receiving dock correspond to the EDI 856 ASN data transmission.
Fast, easy traceability data sharing with Kroger and other customers is possible.

Getting traceability-ready NOW through the ReposiTrak Traceability Network is fast, easy and inexpensive. Thousands of suppliers, retailers and wholesalers are already in the process of connecting to the ReposiTrak Traceability Network to share any and all traceability data and meet the unique requirements of their trading partners.   

Are your customers asking for traceability?

Watch the video to learn more: