DOLLARS and SENSE

There have been more questions than answers to this question and searching for an accurate answer is not easy but it is possible. There have been two publicly made statements regarding the cost of traceability with regard to the PTI.

One was made by the PMA in their submission to the FDA in early 2008. This refers to the cost to the industry as "hundreds of millions" of dollars and the submission indicated years to implement.

More recently on a webcast by Redline solutions, a major grower shipper representative indicated that the Redline solution would work and he estimated the cost of compliance to the PTI would be between $0.10 and $0.20 per carton.

That same company using the FoodTRACE system would pay LESS than 1/2 cent per carton for full compliance.

Although the PTI initiative won't be implementable for quite some time, FoodTRACE next week is running a live test for the purpose of final preparation of readiness for implementation. We will be tracing electronically product from Mexico, across the border into a U.S. facility, to a distribution center and on to stores.