The components of a food traceability system

This paper identifies the general components of a traceability system to be the identification of the units under consideration, the recording of the joining and splitting of these units as they move through the supply chain (the transformations), and the recording of the unit attributes. The distinction between the different components is particularly important when describing and comparing traceability systems, and when recommending improvements. In both these cases, the respective components need to be considered separately.