Traceability system is a quality assurance system that records and saves all kinds of related information of products in the whole process of product supply. Its purpose is to find out the faulty raw materials or processing links quickly and effectively when there are product quality problems, recall the products when necessary, and implement targeted punishment measures, so as to improve the product quality level.
Research status of traceability system at home and abroad
The traceability system of food (agricultural products) was first put forward by some EU countries such as France at the meeting of the Intergovernmental Working Group on Biotechnology Food of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC). It aims to be a risk management measure. Once the problems that endanger human health and safety are found, we can trace the flow direction, recall the unconsumed food, revoke the marketing license, cut off the source, eliminate the harm and reduce the loss according to the information that needs to be recorded in every link from the listing of raw materials to the final consumption of finished products. Decree 178/2002 issued by the European Union stipulates the traceability of food, the prevention of harmful food from entering the market, the obligations of food manufacturers and the requirements of importers and exporters. Among them, "food traceability" is defined as: "the traces of a food in all stages of production, processing and sales can be traced back", that is, food can be found in the whole production and circulation process. The implementation of this Act enables the EU traceability system to cover the whole food chain "from farm to table".
After China's entry into WTO, China's agricultural production is facing a situation of low quality and safety and frequent problems. Faced with the international situation, developed countries use their technological advantages to constantly set up new technical barriers to trade, which hinders the export of agricultural products in China. In order to completely reverse this passive situation, the State Council launched the "Pollution-free Food Action Plan" in 200 1 year, and all localities took actions to take effective measures to improve the quality and safety of agricultural products, so the construction of traceability system for quality and safety of agricultural products in China was gradually put on the agenda.
In order to implement the quality and safety management of agricultural products, clarify the main responsibilities of production and circulation, and protect consumers' right to know, Beijing Agriculture Bureau has established a traceability system for the quality and safety of agricultural products (vegetables). The main function of the system is to realize the information tracking of the whole process of agricultural products production, packaging, storage and transportation and sales. In order to effectively manage the quality and safety of agricultural products, Shanghai developed and established an information inquiry system for the quality and safety of edible agricultural and sideline products in 2003. The system adopts information technology and bar code technology for the first time, and realizes the system management of production monitoring, bar code identification and network inquiry, as well as the whole quality control from farmland to dining table. China Agricultural University and Beijing Huaxin Tong Yuan Technology Co., Ltd. jointly developed the quality and safety traceability management system of beef cattle in China. Based on the principles of radio frequency identification (RFID) and electronic management technology, the quality and safety traceability system of beef cattle production was established, and the "face-to-face" information exchange among beef cattle producers, sellers and customers was successfully realized.
At present, the traceability research mainly focuses on the varieties of agricultural products such as vegetables, fruits and livestock products, and promotes the identification management of agricultural products by establishing a linkage mechanism between production and marketing. With bar codes or electronic chips as information carriers, according to the requirements of information traceability and product traceability, it will be piloted in key enterprises and gradually popularized.
Problems existing in establishing a comprehensive traceability system at present
At present, the implementation and establishment of food (agricultural products) quality and safety traceability system have achieved certain results. However, due to the uneven development of various regions and industries in China, there is still a lot of work to be done to realize the whole process monitoring and establish a perfect traceability system. The current problems are mainly reflected in the following aspects.
(1) There is no national unified traceability platform. At present, most of the traceability systems established in various places are based on their own needs, and they lack communication and exchange with each other and are incompatible with each other. Often a product can be traced in one area, but not in another area, that is, the current traceability is partial and link-based, and it cannot be completely traced in the true sense.
(2) The relevant laws and regulations are not perfect. At present, the quality and safety management of agricultural products in China is mainly based on the Agricultural Products Quality and Safety Law and its supporting regulations, and the requirements for traceability of agricultural products quality and safety have not been clearly reflected in the provisions of laws and regulations, which makes the implementation of traceability lack of legal and regulatory basis and policy guarantee.
(three) technical problems and cost obstacles in the implementation process. The premise of food (agricultural products) quality and safety traceability is to obtain true and reliable information, which is provided and added by producers/enterprises. If the operation of providing additional information is complicated, the labor cost or the cost of materials and instruments will increase a lot, and in the case that it is difficult to see the return in a short time, producers/enterprises have no incentive to build a traceability system.
(D) The standard system is not perfect. At present, China's food (agricultural products) quality and safety standards are lagging behind, and the degree of international docking is not high, and most of them are concentrated in the production process, and there are few standards for processing, circulation and consumption, which cannot meet the needs of full traceability.
Preliminary idea of establishing comprehensive traceability system in quality and safety demonstration area
At present, China's food (agricultural products) export situation is still grim, and there is a great pressure to maintain the quality and safety of exported food and agricultural products. It is an effective way to ensure the quality and safety of exported food (agricultural products) and promote the expansion of exports to explore the implementation of regional management and build a demonstration zone for the quality and safety of exported food (agricultural products). The establishment of traceability system in quality and safety demonstration area can start from the following aspects.
(a) establish and improve the food (agricultural products) quality and safety supervision mechanism.
In the export food (agricultural products) quality and safety demonstration zone, according to the requirements of "company+base+standard+brand+market", we adhere to the working mode of "government-led, departmental linkage, enterprise main body and market operation", pay attention to source control and basic work, and start with the construction of standardized bases to implement the whole process monitoring. In accordance with the working idea of "unified distribution, unified rectification and unified guidance", a management system for the whole process of production, sale and use of agricultural chemical inputs is established, an audit and filing system is implemented for agricultural and veterinary drug stores and drug varieties, and daily supervision is strengthened to prevent illegal and counterfeit agricultural and veterinary drugs from entering the market at the source.
(2) Set up effective traceable units.
In view of the diversity, organization and standardization of agricultural production methods, scientifically set up effective traceability units, and for those industries, products and subjects with high standardization and organization, set traceability units to every product and every responsible person; For those products with low degree of standardization and organization, which need to be re-divided in processing and circulation, after food (agricultural products) quality and safety accidents occur, batch traceability can be used to quickly lock the source and batch of the accident products, thus providing a basis for further regulatory measures.
(3) Improve the standardized production and sales files.
Design standardized production file templates, covering producer information, production file information and product management information comprehensively, develop production management file filling management software, and provide producers with recording and query services of production management information, so that producers can check the operation of production links and establish traceability management capabilities of production links; According to the requirements of labeling traceability bar code and traceability information management, a packaging labeling scheme for traceability management of agricultural products was designed. Establish an expert consultation system for standardized production management, provide guiding suggestions for the management of all aspects of production, and provide the management level of agricultural standardized production.
(4) Organizing the establishment of a unified traceability information management platform.
At present, the traceability of food (agricultural products) quality and safety is incompatible with each other. On the basis of summing up local experience and introducing foreign advanced technology, we will study and establish a unified traceability platform for the whole quality inspection system, which is compatible with traceability systems in various places, forming data sharing and gradually popularizing.
(e) Research on more practical and lower-cost technologies.
The establishment of traceability system can not be separated from advanced science and technology, including information collection, information conversion, information transmission, packaging identification and other technologies. At present, due to the mode of production of small farmers, the low added value of agricultural products and the small scale of agricultural enterprises, all production and business entities can't afford the excessive cost due to the need of quality traceability, so it is urgent to develop low-cost, high-convenience traceability technology and system in line with China's national conditions.
(6) Comprehensively strengthen standardization work.
Further improve the food (agricultural products) standard system, strengthen the revision of standards, formulate new agricultural standards in combination with the needs of establishing traceability system, strengthen the docking with international standards, and improve the scientificity and applicability of standard formulation. Strengthen the popularization of agricultural standards. At present, farmers' awareness of agricultural standardization is not strong, which can not effectively ensure the quality and safety of agricultural products and the integrity and reliability of traceable information. It is necessary to further increase the popularization of standards and enhance farmers' awareness of standardization.