PTI Compliance
What every Grower Shipper Should Know
March 23, 2011
Todd Baggett
CEO
RedLine Solutions, Inc.
www.redlineforproduce.com
tbaggett@redlineforproduce.com
Today’s Agenda
 RedLine Solutions Introduction
 PTI Compliance – What Every Grower Shipper
Should Know
 Question and Answer Time
RedLine Solutions: Background
 Established in 1997
 Headquarters – Santa Clara, California
 Central Valley Office – Fresno, CA
 Southern California – Orange County, CA
 RedLine provides complete Whole Chain Traceability Solutions
Hardware, software, professional services, support, and labels
 We have automated over 100 fresh produce and fruit facilities
 We have production customers doing PTI labeling for field packed items
 Over 500 wireless network and mobile computer installations worldwide
 North America integration, support, and repairs
RedLine’s Whole Chain Traceability Suite
 Managing inventory and traceability from harvest to shipment
 Provide PTI compliant case labeling, lot tracking, with electronic records
 Barcode driven, standards based
 Uses mobile devices over Wi-Fi and Cellular to gather and transmit data
 Complete audit log including date, time, action, user
 Manages internal traceability and publishes data for external use
 Open architecture allows integration with other systems
Partnerships and Associations
The Food Safety Modernization Act
Mandatory compliance is coming
 Most significant legislation since 1938
 We owe thanks to the growers, retailers
and trade associations that had the
vision to create and move on the PTI
ahead of this legislation
ahead
 The focus on prevention means
traceability will become a standard
part of audits
 Implementation will phase in over three years
 Retailers will drive PTI adoption in 2011 / 2012
 The Tester Amendment will not have any effect on retailer requirements
The PTI Mission
“Create an Action Plan for the produce industry to adopt
an effective Whole Chain Traceability program by
incorporating the use of technology and use of common
standards to serve as linkages between internal
traceability programs.”
The Produce Traceability Initiative
 The PTI is:
 Providing the FDA with timely
access to necessary information
when a food borne illness outbreak
occurs
 Limiting the scope of recalls to
specific “Grower Lots of Interest”
instead of recalling entire commodity
groups
 The PTI is not:
 A comment about your already
existing traceability systems
 A centralized database run by or for
the FDA with everyone’s traceability
information
 Using standard data structures
across the entire supply chain
 The ability to use your current
proprietary tracking numbers with
your existing tracking system
 Case-level traceability
 Item-level source tracking
 DataBar for item checkout in retail
stores
The Produce Traceability Initiative
 The PTI is:
 The PTI is not:
 Labeling the carton, bag, bin at time
of packing
 Changing your systems to use the
GTIN as your Item Number
 About Farm to Store or Restaurant
 About Farm to Fork
 About Whole Chain Traceability and
reducing the time to trace-back and
trace forwards
 The Produce Industry leading the
 Not about Scanning at the Store or
Restaurant
Government
 Reducing risk in your business
 Increasing consumer confidence in
the produce the eat
 Serialization of lot numbers
 Throwing away existing traceability
systems
Whole Chain Traceability
Source Tracking #
PTI
Grower
GTIN and Lot #
Packer /
Processor
Distributor /
Wholesaler
GTIN and Lot #
GTIN and Lot #
Distribution
Center
GTIN and Lot #
Consumer
Item Source Tracking
Retail
GTIN and Lot #
PTI Milestones 4, 5, & 6
#4 Show human-readable information on cases
 Packers are responsible for providing human-readable information on
each case.
#5 Encode information in a barcode
 Packers are responsible for encoding the GTIN, lot number.
#6 Read and store information on inbound cases
 Each subsequent handler of the case will have the systems and
capability to read and store the GTIN and lot number from each case of
produce received.
These Milestones are scheduled to be completed in 2011
PTI is Much More than Putting a Label on a Box
 Source lot traceability at the case level, must track
co-mingling of lots by pallet (Hybrid Pallet)
 Internal Traceability extends from the Field through the
Packing Shed and Cooler to customer shipment
 Whole Chain Traceability – The GTIN and lot ID are
recorded on all inbound and outbound transactions of
each supply chain member
 Electronic records shared within 24 hours of a request
 Correct label on the correct box.
PTI Compliance Requires Time and Planning
 Field
 Combining geography, item, and date information on a single label
 Different types of harvests require different PTI processes
 The harvest plan can change multiple times per day
 Packing
 Volume and span of packing operations
 Source lot control
 Multiple concurrent pack configurations per packer and\or packing line
 Cooler
 Tracking pallet consolidation of partials from the field or packing shed
 Tracking consolidation \ building of mixed pallets for specific customer orders
 Tracking of product through required processes
 You will need to pilot process changes
 A well trained staff using effective system does not lose productivity
Process Improvements
 Traceability (and PTI compliance) will require closing the
gaps in current processes
 Source lot control at bin level
 Ad hoc sourcing (Order Substitution)
 Delays between action and entering information
 Inventory is not accurate in the system
 Misses In-process visibility
 Audits will reveal weak process links
Leverage your investment in PTI to improve operations
 Improve visibility
 “Cut to Cool” and other valuable cycle times
 Real Time View into Packing for Sales and Operations
 Automate receipt at the Cooler
 Eliminate data entry errors
 Reduce the time required to check in and receive a field truck
 Data Analysis and Reporting
 Wealth of new data available to help you better manage your operations
 Differences in harvested quantity to received quantity at the Cooler
– “Lost Pallet” issue
 Use Information to Better Manage
 Harvest and Pack Operations
 Treatments and Resources (cooling tunnels, Hydrovacs, ripening rooms)
 People
 Order fulfillment
Real Time Visibility of Harvest and Pack
 Ability to see planned, labeled, packed and received
product in real time
 Ability to see details on what is being harvested / packed
 Ability to anticipate arrival times for special orders
 Ability to track the changes to harvest plans
 Sales can provide better information to customers
 Operations can better manage staffing and resources
One Size Does NOT Fit All
 Effective solutions differ for different Companies
 Commodities
 Scope and Span of Operations
 Fulfillment Model
 Effective solutions differ for different areas of
operation
 Field
 Packing Shed
 Cooler
PTI Best Practices are Evolving
 Approved by Working Groups
Case label standards are being updated
 Clarity on dimensions and quality of bar codes
Hybrid pallet tags
 Approved by Leadership Council
PTI voice pick code
 Not Approved by Leadership Council
Base GTIN’s for traceability
What Should I be doing?
 Understand and take action on the PTI Milestones
 www.producetraceability.org
 Get started now
Define products for testing
Start small, test the new processes
Talk with your customers to understand their expectations and timelines
Talk to your peers who have already been testing
Talk with traceability vendors to scope your needs
 Stay connected
Customers
Trade Associations
Industry Events- National and Regional
www.producetraceability.org
RedLine Solutions is Your Partner for PTI Compliance
 RedLine Solutions provides complete traceability solutions
 Hardware, software, professional services, support, and labels
 Field Harvest through the Packing Shed to the Cooler and customer shipment
 Print what you need, whenever and wherever you need it
 Capture and transmit key information for early visibility
 Create and manage electronic records for traceability
 Our Solutions are designed working with leading produce companies
 While others are talking about solutions, RedLine is delivering
Webinar Series
Join Us on April 20, 2011, 11am PST
“PTI Labeling in the Pack ShedInsights from PTI Pilots”
Register at
www.redlineforproduce.com/events
Come see us at Booth 1454 at United Fresh in New Orleans
Questions and Answers
Questions?
Contact us at
info@redlineforproduce.com
or 888-801-2039
RedLine Solutions for Produce
Thank you for attending!
To register for other events:
www.redlineforproduce.com/events