Companies Increasing Efforts to Tackle Food Safety Issues with McDonald's Demanding Full Traceability from Suppliers.

DUBLIN, Ireland -- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c23737) has announced the addition of Food and Livestock Traceability Encyclopedia to their offering.

It is tough to learn one's way into the subject of food and livestock traceability nowadays. It has expanded to include the disciplines of medicine, biology, chemistry, electronics, computer science and more. We have therefore prepared this booklet to give an unusually broad introduction to the acronyms and terms - covering 449 terms! The hot topics get particular attention with substantial sections elaborating what is going on.

Food scares involve everyone but so does concern over cost and availability of food. The good news is that, today, food safety measures can be improved while, at the same time, reducing costs and increasing sales and customer satisfaction. To achieve this, voluntary cooperation within industries and between nations has a vital part to play as well as new legislation. Increasingly mandates matter too, from McDonald's demanding full traceability from suppliers to Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, and Albertsons mandating RFID labels on all incoming pallets and cases.

The newer technologies of tracking and tracing are being adopted faster than is realised. Genetic testing of food and livestock is now a substantial business. Radio frequency identification of food and livestock is fast becoming the biggest application of RFID and the most ubiquitous local area network connectible in the world of computer science.

However, RFID, biometrics, genetics and so on must be integrated with existing systems and optimally designed for service and cost control, not just safety. Some of these measures already achieve multiple paybacks from faster and more transparent supply chains to more efficient recalls and fewer empty shelves in the supermarket.

Then there is faster, more thorough and more accurate response to food safety crises involving accidental contamination and infection or bioterrorism. And it no longer sees a separation of farm from food. The "farm gate" can no longer be a barrier. We have to consider "Growing plant to plate" and "Animal feed to animal to plate" nowadays. Nothing less will do. Another development is the globalisation of the subject with some of the smaller nations having a lot to teach some of the big ones about improved legislation and more rapid adoption of new technology.

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c23737