Traceability: a technique older than you think

Since traceability connotes the present and writing, its past sends us back, by contrast, to the side of bulk sales and anonymous products.

Bulk sales have always represented a real danger: by allowing foodstuffs of widely varying quality to be marketed under the same product name, this type of marketing multiplies the opportunities for fraud and unfair competition.

But to understand the age and importance of the problem for the sustainability of markets, we need to understand that the players involved didn't wait for today's devices to find solutions. Going back in time, we learn that, contrary to popular belief, traceability goes back a long way, and has its origins (at least) in two inseparable inventions: packaging and the brand name.