Dive Summary:
- The Institute of Food Technologists' board of directors approved a plan that establishes a new global food center for tracing and protecting the world's food supply.
- The Global Food Traceability Center is intended to be an unbiased source that will bring together stakeholders from the agri-food system to collaborate and improve tracing capabilities.
- "We will create a focal point where industry, academic institutions, government, foundations and consumer groups can discuss, collaborate, conduct research, adopt best practices and implement practical and actionable traceability solutions for the food system," said IFT Executive Vice President Barbara Byrd Keenan.
Dive Insight:
The IFT's announcement, which coincides with the 2013 IFT Annual Meeting and Food Expo in Chicago, comes at a noteworthy time in a year that has seen an international scandal surrounding horse meat fraud, as well as a lawsuit filed by meat groups in the U.S. over country-of-origin labeling rules.