QR Codes for Food Traceability: Make Linked Records Recoverable

Specify whether the destination is a specification, lot record, source reference, or consumer page. One ambiguous destination changing meaning by audience is difficult to validate.

Product-level information may serve every package while lot evidence differs by run. Preserve that distinction and let authorized reviewers identify the relevant record without guessing from today’s catalog.

Test links after a product is discontinued or a vendor account changes. FDA describes valid working electronic links as one possible form of electronic records; a broken link cannot retrieve the evidence it once referenced.

Retain source evidence and recovery identifiers. Redirecting an old lot URL to the current product page does not preserve event-time information.

Ask another authorized operator to scan the code. A destination working only in its creator’s browser has not passed a handoff test.

Simulate an expired URL. The fallback should identify a record owner and retrieval route rather than only display a generic website error.

FoodChainAPI suggests candidate Food Traceability List categories from product descriptions. Save the reviewed result beside the product specification; a category match does not establish exemptions, complete operational records, or certify compliance.