TAKEAWAYS
TIGHTER TRACEABILITY FOR PRODUCE RECALLS By LIZ SERTL , Senior Director, Supply Chain Visibility, GS1 US
“Transportation decisions carry more weight than ever before. Conditions can change quickly, and the cost of reacting too late is often higher than expected. The companies navigating this best don’t wait for disruption to show up in the numbers. They pay attention to what’s changing around them, make decisions early, and stay flexible as the market evolves.” REBECCA TINUCCI , CEO, Uber Freight OVERHEARD
Fresh produce can be difficult to trace because of how many points along the supply chain it can pass through before reaching the consumer. A single shipment may include produce harvested from multiple fields and/or growers, then moved between packers, processors, distributors, and retailers, getting repacked or combined with other lots along the way.
Every one of those handoffs is a chance for critical information such as lot numbers, harvest dates, or source locations to go unrecorded or never make it to the next trading partner.
67% Share of consumers who avoid an entire food category following a recall, up from 60% in 2025, according a 2026 GS1 U.S. consumer survey
When product information gets separated from the physical item, companies have a harder time identifying and isolating what’s affected during a recall and may end up removing more product than necessary. The consequences extend beyond the recall itself. Delays in identifying affected products can mean greater disruption and more damage to consumer trust.
Closing that gap requires maintaining a unique product identity from farm to fork. Companies get there with standardized product identifiers, which capture traceability data consistently at each critical tracking event and ensure it stays with the product as it moves between trading partners. Tools such as 2D barcodes can carry and share more trusted information as long as it is provided by the brand owner, including batch, lot, or harvest data, helping companies pinpoint affected products faster. That speed and precision can help limit how far the impact of a recall spreads, both across the supply chain and with consumers.
Freight Factors: Three market forces currently shape the freight sector: Capacity is not recovering as quickly as expected in a tight market; diesel prices are at a 2026 high; and tariff policies changed three times within the quarter, finds Uber Freight’s Q3 Market Update Report .
PAIN AT THE PUMP Diesel recently hit a record $6.53 per gallon. In response, The White House signed an order deferring the federal diesel tax and allowing red diesel on highways, but costs are still climbing for anyone in freight and supply chain. We asked the Inbound Logistics LinkedIn audience what the impact has been on their business— and it’s clear that shippers feel the sting from soaring prices, with 55% reporting their margins getting squeezed.
55% Major margin hit
How do record diesel prices impact your freight or supply chain costs?
32%
10%
Manageable so far
Passing cost to customers
3%
Not affected
Source: Inbound Logistics LinkedIn poll
October 2026 • Inbound Logistics 15
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