IFT’s Global Food Traceability Center Receives $3 Million Grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

CHICAGO — The Institute of Food Technologist's (IFT) Global Food Traceability Center (GFTC) has received a $3 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation that will support and accelerate the work GFTC is doing to help shape the future of traceability across food systems. The award will directly support the continued advancement of GFTC’s work in three key areas:

• Expanding the use of interoperable traceability standards across food systems.
• Developing novel tools and resources that support practical implementation and help reduce barriers to adoption at scale.
• Advancing advocacy and engagement with regulators, multilateral organizations, industry, technology providers and other key stakeholder groups to encourage greater global alignment.

“Traceability is not just about compliance; it is about strengthening trust, collaboration and resilience across the food system. With this support from the Moore Foundation, IFT’s Global Food Traceability Center aims to expand the tools, resources and partnerships needed to make interoperable traceability more practical and scalable across commodities and supply chains,” said Blake Harris, managing director of IFT’s Global Food Traceability Center.

Here’s a glimpse inside the GFTC:

1. Helped launch the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability.

Nearly a decade ago, IFT’s GFTC, in collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund, helped launch the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST) to establish a common language for interoperable seafood traceability. GFTC continues to support GDST’s evolution by contributing technical expertise, implementation resources and tools that help industry and technology providers put the standard into practice, IFT said. Building on that experience, GFTC has been applying its traceability knowledge, resources and tools to other commodities, including dairy as well as beef and leather. With this grant, IFT said GFTC will focus on expanding that work into additional commodities and supply chains.

2. Shaping modern food traceability practices.

IFT said it has long contributed to the advancement of stronger traceability practices across the U.S. food system, including through its early work with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on product tracing. IFT also said its 2012 report, "Pilot Projects for Improving Product Tracing Along the Food Supply System," was cited as the first reference in FDA’s final Food Traceability Rule under FSMA Section 204. Building on that foundation, IFT’s GFTC has developed educational resources, practical tools, and supports industry collaborations to help organizations understand traceability requirements, strengthen internal capabilities and prepare for more interoperable supply chain data sharing, according to the institute. This includes the Enterprise Traceability Education Suite, which aims to help organizations to train their employees in key traceability concepts, prepare them for regulatory expectations and improve recall readiness. GFTC also partnered with other key organizations and associations to form the Food Industry FSMA 204 Collaboration, which is meant to support industry-wide awareness and alignment around implementation of the Food Traceability Rule.

3. Advancing global alignment on interoperable traceability.

GFTC works with international partners, standards bodies and public-sector stakeholders to support greater alignment around interoperable, event-based traceability across food systems, said IFT. Through engagement with regulators, industry associations, standards organizations and multilateral initiatives across five continents, including observer status in Codex Alimentarius work through the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CCFICS), GFTC helps advance shared approaches to traceability and digital information exchange while supporting practical implementation in diverse regulatory and market contexts, according to IFT.

To learn more about IFT’s GFTC, visit www.ift.org/gftc.