A lack of supply chain visibility frustrates efforts to ensure food safety or improve organizational efficiency and customer satisfaction. Key data points, such as unique product identification and location, need to be standardized and digitally encoded so that they can be automatically captured and shared up and down the supply chain, to help ensure interoperability.

In November, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released its new Food Traceability Rule. The rule will apply to companies that manufacture, process, pack, or hold food on FDA's Food Traceability List (FTL), but the rule will have a wide-reaching impact on processors and suppliers that work with other foods, too. We surveyed and interviewed food processors in the U.S./Canada and around the world to get their thoughts on this new rule and how it will impact their businesses.