According to the Center for Disease Control, nearly 50 million people will get sick from eating tainted food this year. Now the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been empowered to cut this number, and save some of the $35 billion per year that goes on wasted produce – and the power the agency has been given is that of data standards.
Mandatory industry-wide data standards will be used to track produce. Radio Frequency identifier (RFID) tags attached to food items will create a kind of logbook that, say, every cut of meat must carry. Data standard equals traceability.
I'm encouraged to see data standards enshrined at the heart of the Food Safety Modernization Act. It's a sign that legislators realize the primacy of information in the safe flow of goods through our value chains. But more than that, it's a reminder that where industries don't put their own data habits in order, someone else will someday force it on them. Decision makers in other sectors where public safety is a factor would be wise to take note. Food Safety
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