Requirements for a food traceability system in a fruit supply chain

Food traceability systems play a critical role in enabling traceability within fruit supply chains. To develop, implement, and evaluate food traceability systems, a set of system requirements is required. However, requirements published to date mainly comprise more general principles and functional requirements, without including non-functional requirements. Existing requirements also do not reflect the need for adaptability of such systems nor expressly consider data quality. Therefore, this paper develops requirements for a food traceability system in a fruit supply chain, comprising functional requirements and non-functional requirements, that consider data quality as well as adaptability. The set of requirements presented in this paper integrates inputs from stakeholder interviews within a representative fruit supply chain (i.e. the deciduous fruit industry of the Western Cape, South Africa), relevant literature, as well as standards on traceability, data quality, and software and information systems quality. The paper shows that the system requirements address the essential functional requirements of a food traceability system, while also defining non-functional requirements that address adaptability and data quality. In further research and in industry, the system requirements can be used in the development and evaluation of food traceability systems in fruit supply chains. • Food traceability systems are complex to design and evaluate • Published food traceability system requirements are functionally focussed • This paper’s requirements include functional and non-functional requirements • This paper’s requirements consider data quality and adaptability • This paper’s sources are stakeholder interviews, standards and literature