Traceability of horticultural produce in Kenya: Situation and trajectory

Hoffmann, Vivian; Edewa, Andrew; and Kimani, Virginia. 2019. Traceability of horticultural produce in Kenya: Situation and trajectory. Voice for Change Partnership Program Brief March 2019. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

Traceability is the ability to track a product through all stages of production, processing and distribution (including importation and at retail). In the context of horticultural produce, if consumers become ill from the food they have eaten, or food is found to contain a harmful chemical, traceability allows this food to be traced from the shop where it was purchased, to the trader who delivered it, to the factory that processed or packed it, and ultimately to the farm where it was grown. In this way, the source of the problem can be identified, and corrective action can be taken [1]. While traceability does not itself guarantee food safety, it is considered a fundamental component of modern food safety systems. In traceability systems, it is good practice to use unique codes to identify blocks of land, individual farms, farmer groups, intermediaries, packers and processors. Each crate of carrots, for example, has its own unique code. By entering this code into a database, one can see on which parcels of land the carrots were grown.