Newswise — WASHINGTON, DC—The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) is pleased to announce that Trace One Inc. has signed on as one of the sponsors of IFT’s Global Food Traceability Center. They will join 16 other partners who all share a common objective to strengthen the global food supply and increase business efficiencies through the use of sound traceability practices.

“We are delighted to be a part of this network of partners committed to the improvement of food quality and collaborate with IFT to ensure that food safety and traceability remain at the forefront of the supply chain,” explains Jerome Malavoy, founder and CEO of Trace One.

When food-related problems occur, time is the enemy as health and lives are at stake, as well as the livelihoods of industries, companies and employees. This Center will assist companies to better trace the paths of products through the supply chain to improve food safety, mitigate risk and avoid devastating health consequences and economic impacts to the food system. Mr. Malavoy adds that, “Retailers, suppliers and manufacturers strive to drive growth and increase margins while meeting the high expectations of savvy consumers. We don’t view this as a conflicting relationship, but rather one that can increase profitability as well as consumer trust. Traceability is the means to achieve this.”

The Global Food Traceability Center officially launched in July 2013 at the IFT Annual Meeting & Food Expo. It serves as an authoritative, scientific, and unbiased source for food traceability. Until the launch of the Center, there was no single entity, public or private, that brought together key stakeholders in the agri-food system to collaborate on providing knowledge and timely assistance on product tracing solutions.

“Trace One has become a globally recognized software company that offers practical traceability solutions to help manage information about food products as they move through the food system,” says Will Fisher, Vice President of Science Policy and Initiatives at IFT. “We are pleased to welcome them as a valued addition to our growing list of founding sponsors. Most leading food businesses now recognize that traceability is about more than recalls; it is about improving your business bottom-line and mitigating risks.”

Additional founding sponsors for the Global Food Traceability Center include Cargill Inc., Eurofins, FMI Foundation, Global Cold Chain Alliance, GS1 US, International Association for Food Protection, Intertek Group, Lyngsoe Systems, Mars Inc., National Center for Food Protection and Defense (NCFPD), National Fisheries Institute, Produce Marketing Association, PepsiCo, University of Guelph, Walmart, and Wegmans Food Markets.

For more information, please visit the IFT Traceability Web Site: www.globalfoodtraceability.org or contact William Fisher, IFT Vice President of Science & Policy Initiatives at 202-330-4977, [email protected].

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About IFTThis year marks the 75th anniversary of the Institute of Food Technologists. Since its founding in 1939, IFT has been committed to advancing the science of food, both today and tomorrow. Our non-profit scientific society—more than 18,000 members from more than 100 countries—brings together food scientists, technologists and related professionals from academia, government and industry. For more information, please visit ift.org.

About Trace OneFounded in 2001, Trace One launched the first collaborative, SaaS platform for managing the development and quality of private label products and today has customers around the world from Europe, North America and Asia. Its mission is to drive food and non-food product innovation, support brand protection, accelerate time-to-market and improve supply chain transparency for retailers, manufacturers and food service companies. The company has offices in Boston, Chicago, Paris, London, Madrid, Hong Kong, and Bentonville, Arkansas. To learn more about Trace One, visit traceone.com