Trustwell Shares Best Practices for Traceability Programs Ahead of FSMA 204
Beyond Compliance: Building Traceability Programs That Work offers a practical roadmap for operationalizing traceability through people, processes, data, supplier engagement, and technology.
Durham, NC – June 30, 2026 – Trustwell, a leading provider of food compliance, transparency, and traceability solutions, today announced the release of its newest industry white paper, Beyond Compliance: Building Traceability Programs That Work. Co-authored by CEO Katy Jones, Vice President of Supply Chain Strategy & Insights Julie McGill, and Director of Professional Services Emma Killough, the paper provides food industry leaders with a list of best practices, drawing on more than a two decades of experience in building scalable traceability programs.
“After more than twenty years of helping companies implement traceability programs, we’ve learned that the organizations making the most progress are the ones treating traceability as a change management initiative. Technology is a critical enabler, but success starts with understanding products, processes, trading partners, data flows, and internal ownership.”
— Julie McGill, VP of Supply Chain Strategy & Insights, Trustwell
As food companies continue preparing for FSMA 204 compliance, Trustwell is encouraging organizations to focus on the foundational practices that drive successful traceability programs: business process readiness, supplier and trading partner engagement, data quality, interoperability, and long-term governance.
“One of the biggest misconceptions about FSMA 204 is that compliance is primarily a technology challenge,” said McGill. “After more than twenty years of helping companies implement traceability programs, we’ve learned that the organizations making the most progress are the ones treating traceability as a change management initiative. Technology is a critical enabler, but success starts with understanding products, processes, trading partners, data flows, and internal ownership.”
Within the whitepaper, Trustwell identifies five best practices that consistently separate successful traceability programs from those that struggle:
Understand Business Processes Before Implementing Technology: Organizations should begin by identifying impacted products, critical tracking events, key data elements, internal workflows, and where traceability data lives today. Technology works best when the business process behind it is clear.
Treat Traceability as a Change Management Initiative: FSMA 204 touches food safety, quality, supply chain, procurement, IT, regulatory, operations, suppliers, distributors, and customers. Successful programs require clear ownership, executive support, role-based training, and cross-functional alignment.
Prioritize Supplier and Trading Partner Onboarding: Traceability depends on participation across the supply chain. Organizations should segment suppliers and trading partners by readiness, communicate expectations clearly, provide education, and establish realistic milestones for ongoing data exchange.
Build a Strong Data Foundation: Common data challenges include incomplete product records, missing supplier identifiers, inconsistent location information, unclear lot code practices, and incomplete shipping or receiving details. Addressing these gaps early improves compliance readiness and reduces operational friction.
Design for Interoperability and Scale: Traceability programs must support multiple data exchange methods and trading partner maturity levels, including ASNs, APIs, structured CSV files, and industry standards such as GS1 identifiers. Interoperability helps organizations avoid one-off solutions and build programs that scale across customers, suppliers, and product categories.
“Interoperability is what will determine whether traceability succeeds at scale. The industry needs practical approaches that meet trading partners where they are today while helping them move toward more standardized, automated data exchange over time.”
— Katy Jones, CEO, Trustwell
“Interoperability is what will determine whether traceability succeeds at scale,” Jones added. “The industry needs practical approaches that meet trading partners where they are today while helping them move toward more standardized, automated data exchange over time.”
The FoodLogiQ platform, part of Trustwell’s comprehensive suite of food industry solutions, helps organizations build more connected, transparent, and resilient supply chains. By enabling companies to capture, manage, and exchange traceability data across their supplier networks, FoodLogiQ supports stronger recall readiness, improved supplier collaboration, and greater operational visibility.
“Every organization starts from a different place, but the most successful traceability programs all have one thing in common — they’re built around how people actually work. We’ve partnered with companies of every size to map processes, engage suppliers, and build practical programs that fit their operations,” said Killough. “When organizations invest in that foundation first, they’re able to implement technology faster, improve data quality, and build programs that continue delivering value well beyond compliance.”
Complementing the platform, Trustwell’s Professional Services team provides strategic advisory and implementation expertise to help organizations develop scalable traceability programs that support both regulatory requirements and long-term business objectives.
“Every organization starts from a different place, but the most successful traceability programs all have one thing in common — they’re built around how people actually work.”
— Emma Killough, Director of Professional Services, Trustwell
About Trustwell
Trustwell is on a mission to change the food industry. Combining FoodLogiQ’s supply chain management software with Genesis’ nutritional analysis and label development solution, the Trustwell Connect platform creates the food industry’s only full-scale solution connecting product development and regulatory-compliant labeling with supplier compliance, enhanced traceability, and automated recall management. From food and supplement manufacturers to retail grocers and restaurant chains, more than 2,500 food companies around the world use Trustwell software as their trusted source for compliance and quality solutions in the food industry. For more information, visit www.trustwell.com.
