Food traceability in regulated fresh food supply chains with an emphasis on the Swedish fishing industry

Abstract: Food traceability is gaining increased attention in food companies and governmental authorities. This is because of the increase in legal and consumer requirements on ensuring food safety, quality and preservation of living resources. These requirements especially apply to the management of food traceability in regulated fresh food supply chains. Several studies have shown that management of food traceability is facilitated by the adoption of information communication technologies (ICT), which also enhances transparency. In order for logistics professionals and managers in regulated fresh food supply chains to gain an understanding of the ICT based management of food traceability, they need to be aware of the challenges involved in adopting it and the potential impacts it has on transparency. The research presented in this thesis examines how food traceability is managed and identifies challenges and impacts. Thus, the overall purpose is to study food traceability regarding impacts of ICT on transparency in regulated fresh food supply chains. Several methods are applied. The research is qualitative, based primarily on a longitudinal case study conducted in a real-life setting over five years in the fishing industry. This case study consists of four single, multi-unit analysis case studies with different time frames, objectives and number of participants, but with the common characteristic of being based on the existing theory on management of food traceability during the time period the research was carried out. One of the case studies was conducted to explore and obtain knowledge about information flows between a governmental authority and companies in regulated fresh food supply chains. The other three single case studies explored impacts on logistics operations, business processes and on the food supply chain transparency of adopting ICT in managing food traceability in fresh food supply chains. The ICT involved was radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and standardized information service frameworks. An integrative literature review was conducted to understand different perspectives on food traceability based on management approaches to ensure food safety. The thesis concludes that the governmental authority needs to be viewed as a stakeholder, and that the challenges in, and potential impacts on transparency of adopting ICT need to be understood in the management of food traceability in regulated fresh food supply chains. The research provides insights into conceptual modelling of fresh food supply chains as logistical chains. It also shows that managing food traceability by adopting RFID and standardized information service frameworks (e.g. the Electronic Product Code Information Service, EPCIS framework) is faced with technical and business challenges. The technical challenges identified concerned ensuring the readability of RFID tagged items and the management of information. The business challenges identified concerned increased initial and operational costs, the sharing of initial costs, and management of information visibility. Potential impacts are also identified on the information visibility aspect of transparency in logistics operations and business processes. These impacts are important when considering adoption of ICT to manage food traceability to meet regulatory and consumer. A conceptual model for analysing food traceability in regulated fresh food supply chains is proposed, where practical implications are to guide practitioners to increase their understanding. The summary provided of European regulations on the preservation of food safety, quality, and living resources and labelling of food products contributes to understanding the legal requirements that need to be fulfilled.   The theoretical contributions of this thesis consists of: conceptual modelling of regulated fresh food supply chains; the categorization of challenges in adopting ICT to manage food traceability; a standardized exchange and storage of information to meet food traceability requirements; and potential impacts on transparency of adopting ICT to manage food traceability.