How MFiber’s field-level traceability brings transparency and environmental impact together
Overview:
Consumers increasingly connect personal and household health to planetary health¹. In addition, transparency in sourcing, packaging and production practices continues to be a key area of consumer interest. In pet food supply chains, that expectation can be difficult to meet because many ingredient systems do not retain farm- or lot-level traceability data in a way that is easy to audit or verify.
MFiber, a Pet Sustainability Coalition (PSC) Accredited, Icon Member, developed a field-level traceability system that links every bale of Miscanthus grass to the field where it was grown. The system connects ingredient lots to farm identifiers, harvest timing, and chain-of-custody records through processing and distribution. MFiber reports that its Miscanthus grass supply is fully field-traceable and produced in Safe Feed/Safe Food–audited facilities².
By pairing traceability with lifecycle comparison data and peer-reviewed research on Miscanthus production systems, MFiber demonstrates how ingredient suppliers can help pet food brands verify sustainability claims through traceable sourcing and documented environmental data. Traceability systems are widely recognized as a key mechanism for improving supply chain transparency and verifying product claims³.
The Challenge:
Traceability systems were originally developed to improve food safety response during recalls and outbreak investigations. When traceability data is incomplete, companies may struggle to isolate contamination sources, conduct targeted recalls, prevent fraud, or provide documentation required during regulatory or retailer audits³.
Strong traceability systems allow companies to quickly track ingredients through production and distribution, improving response speed and transparency³. The same infrastructure is increasingly important for verifying sustainability claims.
Environmental research often describes the potential impacts of crop production systems, but without documented origin data, brands may only be able to make generalized claims about an ingredient rather than verify the performance of their specific supply chain.
MFiber recognized an opportunity to extend traceability beyond compliance and use it as a tool to support credible sustainability claims and as a way to stay connected to the farmers they work with.
The Solution
Goal: Build a fiber supply chain capable of providing documented origin, chain-of-custody verification, and support for sustainability claims.
Implementation
MFiber developed a traceability system linking each finished ingredient lot to:
- Field or farm identifier
- Harvest date or window
- Bale and processing lot numbers
- Chain-of-custody documentation through processing and shipping
MFiber reports that its Miscanthus supply is fully field-traceable and produced in facilities audited under the Safe Feed/Safe Food program, which requires documented traceability and tested recall procedures²¹¹. The system aligns with traceability frameworks described in the FMI Traceability Implementation Guide, which emphasizes standardized data elements and documented tracking events across the supply chain³.