An Appraisal of Traceability Systems for Food Supply Chains in Colombia

Abstract

Traceability systems have improved significantly in the last few years in relation to safeguarding food safety and quality. Although traceability is considered to be an effective tool in supporting quality control, the adoption of different traceability systems along the supply chain can bring the drawback of information asymmetry, which affects inventory management. This paper explores adoption alternatives that may facilitate the blend of traceability technologies in the food industry of developing countries. The analysis is based on a simulation model that represents the behaviour of inventory and food quality in the case of the mango supply chain in Colombia. The results show the asymmetries between traceability systems along the supply chain as well as their effects on inventory and food quality.