Food Safety & Traceability

Part of the worlds-biggest-software-project initiative.

An AI-native, open-source platform for farm-to-fork tracking, recall management, and FSMA 204 compliance.

Food Safety & Traceability is a candidate project for an open-source platform that captures lot-level critical tracking events, accelerates recall response, and supports FSMA 204, HACCP, and SQF compliance for food producers, processors, and distributors. It targets food safety managers, supply chain directors, QA teams, and regulatory affairs officers across processors, manufacturers, retailers, and produce growers.

Why Food Safety & Traceability?

Enterprise incumbents (IBM Food Trust, TraceGains, SafetyChain) require six-figure annual contracts and complex multi-month integrations, putting comprehensive traceability out of reach for mid-market food businesses.
SMB-focused tools (FoodReady from $99/mo, FoodDocs from $19/mo) deliver accessible pricing but offer shallow traceability depth, limited supplier integration, and weak analytics.
FSMA 204's July 2028 compliance deadline requires every actor on the Food Traceability List to capture critical tracking events and key data elements — most platforms still rely on manual data entry from supplier paperwork.
Recall scoping today often takes days of manual network analysis; lot-level graph traversal could reduce this to hours or seconds.
Blockchain-led approaches have cooled in favour of interoperable GS1 EPCIS data standards, opening room for an open, standards-aligned alternative without vendor lock-in.

Key Features

Traceability & Critical Tracking Events

Lot-level and product-level traceability across suppliers, ingredients, and finished goods
FSMA 204-compliant CTE capture with key data elements (KDEs)
Multi-facility and multi-tier supply chain support
GS1-aligned identifiers (GLN, GTIN, SSCC) and EPCIS data exchange
Audit trail for regulatory evidence

Recall Management

Recall workflow for rapid impact assessment and coordination
Affected product, customer, and distribution-location identification
Recall tracking, communication, and closure
Distribution network mapping for downstream notification

Compliance & Documentation

HACCP plan documentation and hazard analysis
FSMS setup aligned with FSMA, SQF, BRCGS, and EU food law frameworks
Compliance documentation and audit support
Report generation for FDA and state regulatory submissions
User role management and access control

Field & Plant Operations

Mobile app for field-level and plant-floor data capture
Supplier and ingredient data management with collaboration portals
Cold-chain monitoring for temperature-sensitive products
Consumer-facing digital product passport with QR-code provenance

AI-Native Advantage

AI is applied to areas where incumbents still rely on manual effort: document AI extracts CTEs from supplier invoices, shipping records, and labels for FSMA 204 compliance; lot-level graph traversal predicts recall scope across the entire distribution network in seconds; supplier risk scoring fuses audit history, pathogen outbreak databases, weather, and geopolitical signals; and a conversational compliance assistant answers FSMA, HACCP, and SQF questions with citations to traceability records. Computer vision at receiving docks flags non-conforming produce against specifications and links images directly to traceability records.

Tech Stack & Deployment

The project aligns with GS1 standards (GLN, GTIN, SSCC, EPCIS) for interoperable supply chain data exchange and targets FSMA 204, HACCP, SQF, BRCGS, and EU EC 178/2002 frameworks. Expected delivery includes a mobile app for field and plant-floor capture, supplier collaboration portals, and APIs for ERP, carrier, sensor, and quality management system integration. Reporting is geared to FDA submissions and audit evidence.

Market Context

The global food traceability market is valued at approximately USD 20.70 billion in 2026 and projected to reach USD 44.6 billion by 2034 at a CAGR of around 7.45% (Coherent Market Insights; Straits Research). Enterprise platforms typically require six-figure annual contracts, mid-market tools range $20,000–$60,000/yr, and SMB tools start at $19–$99/mo. Primary buyers are food safety managers, supply chain directors, QA teams, regulatory affairs officers, and recall coordinators across processors, manufacturers, retailers, and produce growers.

Project Status

This project is in the research and specification phase.
Contributions, feedback, and domain expertise are welcome.

Contributing

We welcome contributions from developers, domain experts, and potential users. See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

Important: All contributions must be your own original work or clearly attributed open-source material with a compatible licence. Copyright infringement and licence violations will not be tolerated and will result in immediate removal of the offending contribution. If you are unsure whether a piece of code, text, or other material is safe to contribute, open an issue and ask before submitting.

Licence

Licence to be determined. See discussion for context.