In 2024, McLane announced the requirements of its food traceability program, requiring traceability data to be shared for all products included on the FDA’s Food Traceability List (FTL) and for products that use FTL foods as an ingredient.   

Other industry giants – including Kroger and Sysco – have also made public commitments to require traceability data from suppliers. 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 Walmart – that you’d hoped to have in the future.

What are McLane’s requirements for suppliers?

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

  • The product’s Traceability Lot Code (TLC)
  • The quantity and unit of measure
  • The product description
  • The location description for: the immediate subsequent recipient, from where the food was shipped, and for the TLC source or TLC source reference; and
  • The date of shipment.

McLane is basing its traceability program on the use of GS1-128 barcodes for all FTL foods. They require all traceability data to be passed forward for every shipment according to these rules:

  • Provide the shipping KDEs in electronic format via advanced ship notice (ASN) or other electronic data exchange (EDI) transactions before the delivery date.
  • OR provide any hard copy paper records along with the bill of lading (BOL) at the time of delivery.
  • Ensure that all shipping KDE records are complete and accurate.
  • Clearly identify the Traceable Lot Code for each Food Traceability Lot food and use a standardized Traceable Lot Code format across shipments.
  • Clearly identify each individual KDE and use a standardized format for KDEs across shipment
Fast, easy traceability data sharing with McLane 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: