Regulation 178/2002: what traceability is and what it requires of you
Regulation (EC) 178/2002 requires food businesses to know who they receive each product from and who they supply it to. This guide explains what its Article 18 asks of a fruit trader and how to keep that data in Agrocom.
The regulation
What traceability means under the General Food Law (Regulation 178/2002)
Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 28 January 2002, known as the General Food Law, lays down the principles of EU food law. It defines traceability as the ability to trace and follow a food through all stages of production, processing and distribution.
Its Article 18 has applied since 01/01/2005 and covers all food businesses, including those that receive, handle and dispatch fruit and vegetables. The full text is on EUR-Lex.
Article 18
What Article 18 requires of a fruit packhouse
- Being able to identify whoever supplied you with a food: in a fruit packhouse, the grower or producer of each intake.
- Being able to identify the businesses you have supplied your products to: the customer of each dispatch.
- Having systems and procedures in place to provide that information to the authorities on request.
- Food must be labelled or identified so as to make it easier to trace.
This is known as "one step back, one step forward" traceability: each business answers for its direct supplier and its direct customer.
How to track fruit traceability in Agrocom
Agrocom helps you keep that data to hand, from the moment fruit arrives at the packhouse until it is sold.
- One step back: the goods received note records the date, time, grower, plot and net weight, with the grower's signature.
- One step forward: each dispatch stores the customer, their site, the pack type, the variety and the kilos.
- Traceability of the fruit and of the materials in contact with it.
- Pallet and punnet labels with barcodes, from the label editor.
Incidents
When there is a problem with a lot
When a customer complains about a lot, the urgent thing is to know where it came from and where it has gone. With Agrocom, if there is ever an issue with a lot, you get its traceability straight away.
Intake, handling on the lines and dispatches are all in the same software, so there's no need to cross-check paperwork or spreadsheets to rebuild the fruit's journey.
Frequently asked questions
What people ask us most
Any other questions? Call us on +34 959 54 07 12.
What is food traceability?
The ability to trace and follow a food through all stages of production, processing and distribution, according to Regulation (EC) No 178/2002.
Since when has traceability been mandatory?
Article 18 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 has applied since 01/01/2005.
Which part of traceability does Agrocom handle?
That of the fruit and of the materials in contact with it: who each lot comes in from and which customer it goes out to. Your company's internal procedures are up to you.
Can I see it first?
Yes. Request a no-obligation demo using the form.
More from Agrocom
Grower settlements
The settlement wizard and the average price screen for paying your growers.
Signed goods received note
Every fruit intake with its grower, plot and weight, signed on the tablet.
Dispatches and CMR
The dispatch note for each customer, with the CMR generated automatically.
Traceability and labels
Traceability of the fruit and of materials, plus a built-in label editor.
Customer invoicing
The invoicing wizard starts from your dispatches and meets Spain's requirements for invoicing systems.
Dashboard (Power BI)
Sales, customers and stock in Power BI, with the indicators your company needs.
Intrastat and Soivre
The Intrastat declaration prepared for the Spanish Tax Agency website, with the statistical value calculated, plus Soivre reports.
Accounting with SII
Optional module: automatic journal entries, direct connection with the SII and forms 303, 111 and 190.
Ask us for a no-obligation demo
We'll show you Agrocom with the day-to-day work of your packhouse.