Presently, there are many different ways the products we produce are packaged. Some are done in a very sophisticated way through electronic grading. They have the ability to be computerized where everything is logged into the computer. They have the stickers on the product. They can simply look at the sticker and find out exactly what day and almost what tree that apple or that peach came from. Then we go to the other extreme where we have smaller farms that are packing and shipping directly, but they probably could trace back because they're only maybe shipping to two or three different buyers. So traceability could happen in whatever manual way they might do it.
What we need to do is make sure that everybody is doing the same thing, so we have something that has accountability and credibility, and if there ever was an issue, we could trace it back.
Those steps are taking place now. As I said, that's kind of step two that we're following. We have the programs in place, so now we need to get the traceability. It seems a hard one to work with. I don't know if people can't get their heads wrapped around it, or think, “Oh well, it's not going to happen to me”. We have to get over that and realize that it could very easily happen, so we are working on it.
At this time, we do have different organizations that have been set up specifically to work with traceability. Maybe it's becoming another market item out there that people want to help with, providing the technology to make that happen. As I said, it is something we are working on. I know a lot of the supply management groups have completed it, because they're looking more at the location of the piggery or the chicken farm, whatever, and that can be done through a lot of GPS mapping. But with horticulture, once the product is on a truck, you don't know where it has gone. But it is something we are working on and trying to figure out how to do it so it's not a burden. If it gets too complex, people will not want to do it.