Traceability Starts in the Field
The Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI) creates a new standard for labeling and tracking fresh produce at the case label. RedLine Field is a complete solution enabling growers and shippers to meet their traceability requirements while minimizing additional cost and effort.
PTI Compliance in the Field
The PTI requires that every case of produce display a label with a barcode including a Lot Number and your Global Trade Identification Number (GTIN) identifying the specific product in the case. You must be able to internally trace the Lot Number to a specific field and harvest date. You must also maintain this information electronically so you can track which lots and items are shipped to which customer and share this information electronically with your customers when needed.
While putting a label on a box sounds simple, getting the right label becomes very complex: PTI labels must specify the commodity, pack style, harvest location and harvest date. Given that daily changes are a standard part of life for fresh produce and that all of this takes place in an actual field, the process of PTI Compliance starts to look overwhelming.
A Complete Solution for Traceability
Establishing PTI Compliance for your business is much more than simply installing a piece of software or buying some barcode labels. Success requires keeping track of traceability information from your harvesting operations all the way through fulfilling and shipping orders to your customers. A complete solution includes:
- A software application that not only helps you manage the process of generating labels and tracking information, but also integrates with your existing systems to hand off the traceability information as needed.
- Barcode labels that work for all your packaging and through all of your pre-cooling operations. RPCs, wax cartons, and pre-cool processes such as icing may require specific label materials or adhesives.
- Barcode printers that work in the office or in the field.
- Mobile computing devices that can manage printing as well as capture harvest data for traceability.
- Network connectivity that lets devices in the field communicate with the system so you can quickly react to daily changes in your harvest.
RedLine is your partner for PTI Compliance
RedLine Solutions is in the fields, working with leading grower/shippers and harvesting companies to make sure we understand the challenges and issues involved in complying with the PTI. RedLine Field has been designed from the ground up to provide you with the maximum flexibility in meeting traceability requirements based on your business and operational needs.
We have experience with all of the hardware, software, supplies and services you need. Our partnerships with Motorola and Zebra give our customers access to the most advanced and reliable hardware available. RedLine’s implementation team understands fresh produce and your harvesting processes so we can configure solutions that work for you instead of against you. We can guide you through implementation and provide ongoing support of the total solution.
Flexible PTI Compliance from Harvest to Cooler
It all starts with your daily estimate or harvest plan
Day-to-day PTI Compliance, just like day to day harvesting, starts with your estimate or harvest plan. For each day, you decide where to harvest each commodity, what crews will work where, your estimate for number of cases, and how these cases will be packed. This harvest plan for the day, modified by the normal changes during the day, provides the basis for printing and applying the PTI case labels.Print labels when and where you need them
Every business is different with unique requirements for generating PTI labels. RedLine Field allows you to pre-print labels in bulk at the office, print directly in the field, or (if needed) print at the cooler. You can mix and match printing locations and methods as necessary, including change them from day to day.
Apply labels the way that works for your harvest
Different commodities require different methods for harvesting. Ground harvesting is different from harvesting using tables which is different from using a harvester. In the same way that harvest methods have to change based on the commodity, so does the process of applying PTI labels to cases. The "one size fits all" or "do it my way" approach pushed by some vendors add to the cost and confusion of PTI compliance. RedLine has worked directly with growers of multiple commodities to learn when and where to apply labels for different harvest approaches. We can work with you to determine which methods will work best for you.
Traceability begins at the harvest
Once your harvest team has done the work to print and place the correct label on each case of produce, the process of tracking begins. Each time a pallet is built, the harvest crew applies a numerical pallet tag and associates the PTI case label to that pallet using a mobile device. This process takes seconds and builds the electronic record that is the basis for traceability. Once the harvest data has been captured at the pallet level, it can be tracked to the cooler and used to automate the process of receiving at the cooler; saving time and reducing data entry errors in the receipt process.