The Product Traceability Initiative Label, also known as the PTI Label, is an industry wide effort to label and track produce from the field to the grocery store. This traceability process allows produce to be quickly and efficiently tracked by scanning a barcode label, adhered to produce cases from the grower’s field, all the way to the grocery store. E-label offers everything you need to create, design and print PTI labels that meet GS1 standards and make it from the “field to the fork”.
What is PTI?
So, what exactly is PTI? PTI stands for Product Traceability Initiative. Throughout the industry, their products are labelled and tracked, from the origin of the product, through the packaging process, all the way to the grocery store. The purpose of PTI is to improve visibility and traceability of food safety in supply chain operations.
This voluntary program was launched in 2008 to minimize the further impact of contaminated produce on consumers and to expedite the process of removing it from shelves. Small community operations all the way down to major product suppliers can benefit from joining PTI.
What is a PTI label?
So, what exactly is PTI? PTI stands for Product Traceability Initiative. It is an industry wide effort to label and track produce from where it originates in the field, through the packaging process, and all the way into the grocery store. The purpose of PTI is enhanced visibility and traceability in supply chain operations for food safety.
This voluntary program was launched in 2008 as a way to minimize contaminated produce items from further affecting consumers and speeding up the process of removing it from shelves. Small community operations all the way to major produce suppliers can benefit from joining PTI.
PTI Label content requirements
There are many elements that make up a PTI label. All this information on product labels is required not only to be traceable, but to meet standard industry requirements.
GS1-128 Barcode – The barcode of a PTI label consists of two parts: the product GTIN and the batch number. GTIN stands for Global Trade Item Number. It’s a 14-digit unique identifier that identifies any given company, manufacturer or retailer’s trade item, who then decides how to structure the GTIN for packaging. The barcode also contains the batch number. This is another number used to identify a product group or quantity from a single supplier.
- Product Description – This information details the product being shipped, more specifically the item and variety of the product. Commodity refers to the general description of the product (i.e. apples, tomatoes, lettuce, etc.) and variety refers to the exact type of product (i.e. Fuji, Roma, romaine, etc.).
- Package size – The package size describes the quantity and weight of the labeled container.
- Date – This is the date the product was packaged and harvested, or the date it was most effective.
- Country of Origin – Informs the country of manufacture or origin of the product (i.e. US product).
- Distribution Information – All information on product packaging and shipping sources is printed here. This can include company name, street address, city and state.
- PTI Voice Option Code – The Voice Option Code combines the GTIN, Lot Number and Box Date into a 16-digit code number. The code is divided into a smaller two-digit number and a larger two-digit number and is printed on the lower right corner of the label.
Print your own PTI labels
If you are a farmer or seller and wish to print your own PTI labels, you need a thermal label printer. Depending on how many labels you want to print each day, you’ll want to use a thermal desktop printer or an industrial printer.
Direct thermal labels or thermal transfer labels can be used for PTI labels. However, we recommend thermal transfer labels as they are more durable than direct thermal labels and print better on synthetic materials like polyester and polypropylene. If you plan to use thermal transfer labels, make sure you also purchase thermal ribbon for printing.
In conjunction with this device, you will need a software program for creating and printing PTI labels. These can be purchased through businesses that specialize in barcode software, or some free options are available online.
