SALT LAKE CITY – Affiliated Foods, Inc., a major wholesaler serving more than 800 member stores across the Southwest, has accelerated efforts to comply with the FDA’s new food traceability rule (FSMA 204) by adopting the ReposiTrak Traceability Network®. The move enables Affiliated Foods’ suppliers to seamlessly exchange the complex Key Data Element (KDE) information required by the FDA for every Critical Tracking Event (CTE) in its supply chain. The solution enables Affiliated Foods and its suppliers to comply ahead of the FDA’s January 2026 deadline with little disruption to operational procedures.
“Historically, the industry was only required to track where product came from and directly where it was shipped. That’s all changed with FSMA 204,” said Affiliated Foods COO Brian Piancino. “Now everyone from the grower in the field, to the processor, to the warehouse, must have electronic data tracking in place and the ability to provide that data to the next person in line in the supply chain all the way to the backroom of the retail store.”
Complying with FSMA 204 is especially challenging for wholesalers, who are required to not only take in enormous amounts of data from suppliers, but also merge it with data from their own facilities, and then send it to retail partners with every shipment of Food Traceability List (FTL) foods. In addition, wholesalers have found that retail customers have an expectation that the traceability solution will work for the retail environment, too. Therefore, the only viable solution is an agnostic one that works for any document type, and is compatible with both wholesale and direct store delivery (DSD) supplier systems on the retail side.
“This is a big ask, especially for the independent retailer,” continued Piancino. “To gather input and provide guidance on how to approach FSMA 204 compliance as seamlessly as possible throughout our operation, we’ve assembled a food safety-led steering committee at the warehouse made up of members of our retail advisory council. The decision to partner with ReposiTrak for traceability was an important next-step.”
Affiliated Foods has been utilizing the ReposiTrak Compliance Management solution for nearly a decade to reduce risk and maintain regulatory and financial documentation for its more than 350 suppliers. The ReposiTrak Traceability Network requires no additional hardware or software and the ReposiTrak team assists in making the connections needed under the new regulation. Suppliers can connect to an unlimited number of trading partners and begin sharing data for a low, flat fee and there is no cost to retailers.
Food supply chain operators interested in discussing the impact of FSMA 204 on their business should contact Derek Hannum (DHannum@repositrak.com).
About ReposiTrak
ReposiTrak, Park City Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCYG), provides retailers, suppliers and wholesalers with a robust solution suite to help reduce risk and remain in compliance with regulatory requirements; enhance operational controls; source and discover new vendors; and increase sales with unrivaled brand protection. Consisting of four product families – food traceability, compliance and risk management, supply chain solutions and MarketPlace sourcing – ReposiTrak’s cloud-based platform’s integrated applications are mutually reinforcing and work synergistically to create value and positive impact. For more information, please visit repositrak.com
