Abstract:

The food industry is increasingly customer-oriented, which requires the agricultural sector to respond promptly when dealing with food incidents that affect the health and well-being of consumers. These quick and effective responses depend on sound traceability systems that help minimise potential problems in production and distribution (namely problems associated with the insecurity, poor quality and perishability of food products). It is accepted that the traditional and straightforward system of labelling agricultural products for human consumption is insufficient to guarantee that food is "authentic", good quality and safe. Thus, traceability is believed to be an effective tool to help ensure the safety and quality of food products and, therefore, gain consumer trust. Consumers are increasingly concerned about the safety of their food, so the speed of obtaining information on foodborne contamination and diseases, effective risk management and efficient management of the withdrawal of non-compliant products from the market have become critical aspects in the management of the agri-food sector. One of the possible answers to such concerns consists of presenting an integrated traceability solution for the agri-food value chain, which includes defining a traceability methodology, developing a prototype of a modular traceability solution, and demonstrating a traceability solution in an operational environment. The study presented here is an exploratory study of the traceability process's importance and social and economic impact on Portuguese consumers. Using a questionnaire to collect data, it was possible to perceive the perspective of Portuguese consumers on the traceability of Food Products. Portuguese consumers perceive the traceability process of the food products they consume, what importance is given to this traceability, and which aspects they most want to see tracked in their production and supply chain. That is, on the path taken by the food products they consume from "field to fork".