EU Product Traceability Regulations.

[El Presidente]

"Under EU law, “traceability” means the ability to track any food, feed, food-producing animal or substance that will be used for consumption, through all stages of production, processing and distribution."

 

I was chatting to Andy last night and we wondering how Habanos are going to handle this one as it's implementation for cigars sold in the EU is imminent.

In short.  Every box of cigars will have a QR code that will detail every stop of the way along the production and distribution chain. 

In the case of cigars, that is every step of the way from farm to factory to warehouse to distributor warehouse etc etc. 

I posted an article last week where the CEO of Davidoff was blowing up over the compliance complexites and cost involved that will invariably be passed on to consumers.  

Can you imagine Habanos 

 

 

[LordAnubis]

I mean, it has to be there, it doesnt have to be right... copy paste for everything. Finally i will have proof that my JLPs are indeed the same leaf, factory, and roller as my BHKs. Been telling people for years they are full of BHK offcuts. Vindication is near!

[Cairo]

How are they supposed to keep the factory identification a state secret?

Grab the popcorn.

[sho671]

Wouldn’t that be the end of grey market vendors too?

[Shrimpchips]

9 minutes ago, sho671 said:

Wouldn’t that be the end of grey market vendors too?

They’ll just scratch off the QR code just like the serials? 

[La_Tigre]

“Hmmm…weird this tobacco was grown, rolled, stored and shipped on the same day…”

 

Meanwhile, back at Habanos S.A. distribution:

[Bijan]

I think that's not the extent of tracking requirements. They're much more modest:

"All food and feed businesses must be able to identify where their raw materials (e.g. ingredients and packaging) come from and where their products are going or have gone to, i.e. they must be able to identify one step back and one step forward in the food chain. "

"There is no legal requirement to implement internal traceability which tracks food ingredients and products as they move through the manufacturing process."

https://www.eufic.org/en/food-production/article/food-traceability-cornerstone-of-eu-food-safety-policy

So sounds like Habanos has to know and track which cuban state monopoly they bought their leaf from...

And LCDH have to track which company their CCs come from...

[99call]

Being in the UK I look forward to these QR codes. It will be another method for me to see that my cigars have been thrown into an incinerator. Or donated to one of Prince Charles charities, or gone into a national fund to by more flags.

[ha_banos]

Sounds like a job for a Blockchain! Will we be buying cigars as NfTs next? 

 

[Hoepssa]

 

Seems like 'deeming rule' in USA .

[ATGroom]

From this 2020 CA article: https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/the-co-presidents

"By 2024, because of a new European Union regulation, we will also have tracers on every box of cigars from the time they leave Cuba, right down to the retailers’ shelves.”

No idea what it will look like in reality, but I envision it being that when when you look up a box serial number you get something like a parcel tracking history.

Allegedly they already know which distributor each serial goes to when it leaves Havana. This would mean adding another scan to a database when the distributors send them out to the retailers.

[Bijan]

23 minutes ago, ATGroom said:

Allegedly they already know which distributor each serial goes to when it leaves Havana.

I guess this is why the grey market scratches off the serials.

23 minutes ago, ATGroom said:

This would mean adding another scan to a database when the distributors send them out to the retailers.

I guess this is yet another party that will want them scratched off.

[Salomones]

It will be a good way to decode all factory codes.