The ability of organizations to track items as they move through the value chain and trace ingredients, raw materials and packaging back to source, provides a foundation for managing risk in a value chain.

Major drivers towards whole chain traceability are legislation, customer demand and voluntary standards developed by trade organizations. Voluntary standards are being adopted by an increasing number of suppliers as a ticket to trade, realising opportunities to expand their customer range or export to demanding markets. Not only does chain traceability build trust in relationships between supplier, customer and the authorities, - a well designed system can also be a cornerstone in food defence.

Traceability is essential for the distribution of information on basic parameters that are vital to consumer safety, compliance with legislation and business partner demands. Additional data may be harvested and easily coupled to traceability data. This enables the verification of basic information, thereby adding value, saving cost and minimising waste.

Quality of information and security in passing this information through a value chain is crucial. The type and quality of such information depends on the application of appropriate technology and communication systems.

The Biorisk program in DNV R&I is developing approaches to risk management through whole chain traceability, particularly focusing on parameters for sustainability assessments and use of detection technologies.