UNITED STATES - The Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI) is calling on experts across the industry to join a working group to support Terminal Market Operators with compliance with Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) 204 Traceability Rule. In its call to action, PTI explained that the working group will create a guidance document to support Terminal Market Operators in their FSMA 204 compliance efforts.

PTI Master Data and Technology working groups have published an updated guidance document—Why and How to Use EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice/Manifest Transaction Set (ASN)—to prepare industry members for the implementation of FSMA 204.

According to a press release, the objectives for this guidance document are to:

• Explain what an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Advance Ship Notice (ASN) is and why companies may choose to implement
• Outline business benefits derived from the use of an ASN
• Detail how the ASN can be used to facilitate capturing the Global Trade Item Number or GTIN and corresponding Batch/Lot Numbers with only one pallet barcode
• Provide specifications for how to implement an EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice for produce shipments

In addition, the PTI Technology working group has published an updated Best Practices for Formatting Case Labels, which includes the updated version of the PTI harmonized case label. As the release stated, the only change to the PTI Harmonized case label is the addition of a horizontal line across the middle of the label to visually verify print quality.

The best practices included in the document aim to:

• Utilize barcodes currently being used in the food industry
• Utilize existing GS1 Standard data elements inside the barcode
• Minimize the amount of information shown on the label to meet the needs to attain whole chain traceability
• Accommodate multiple case sizes
• Determine what information is necessary to include on the label
• Determine what information should appear on the label versus what should be shown on the case in a human-readable format (e.g. supplier/responsible party’s address, etc.)
• Provide receivers with standards from which they can build their case label record-keeping systems

Those interested in participating in a working group should contact IFPA’s Ed Treacy.

The PTI is sponsored by the Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA), GS1 US, GS1 Canada, and the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA). More information on the organization can be found here.

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