Best Practice Guideline: Traceability

Traceability enables a product to be linked back from the final customer to the original materials, through all stages of production. It also means raw materials can be followed through production to the final product supplied to the customer. A traceability system identifies the path from the original material to the customer through records, labelling and coding, all linked to provide assurance of product safety and controls.

This publication looks at key elements when setting up a robust traceability system such as gathering of key information, batching of products and linking of product as it moves through the process. The aim is to provide sites with the information to understand:
• the requirements of traceability
• the principles for implementing an effective traceability system
• how to undertake a traceability test.