Voluntary traceability in food supply chain: a framework leading its implementation in Agriculture 4.0

Today, the world faces a big challenge about food quality and safety. Consumers are becoming more careful during their food choices, focusing on food information. Drawing on the Industry 4.0 technologies and methodologies, food companies could adopt traceability systems that are able to collect various types of information along the food supply chain, to satisfy regulation but also to make their work transparent. With the aim of overcoming the current shortcomings in the food traceability framework (e.g., the absence of data visualisation solutions or tools for supply chain actors and consumers, adopting standards for external traceability and data identification, and fulfilling the four Industry 4.0 development dimensions), and considering the sustainability challenges, the aim of this study is to suggest a Framework for Voluntary Food Traceability based on digital technologies and explore its application by means of a case study in an organic olive oil company. The Framework, composed of three building blocks, allows the company to: map supply chain processes, identifying tasks and processes where data was generated, its format and the supply chain owner; select and use technologies to collect and analyse traceability data; and communicate to the end consumer comprehensible and useful food information.