Associated Food Stores Picks Procurant for FSMA Rule 204 Compliance
Associated Food Stores (AFS) has chosen Procurant, a collaborative software platform, as a core component of its compliance solution for FSMA Rule 204 reporting and traceability. The deployment will enable AFS to meet the FDA’s beefed-up food safety requirements, slated to take effect in January 2026, by using Procurant’s traceability and procurement capabilities.
“This collaboration strengthens our ability to provide safe, high-quality products to our customers while simplifying compliance for our suppliers,” noted Todd Bell, VP, procurement at Salt Lake City-based AFS. “Procurant has been a valuable partner in managing our procurement processes, and their approach to FSMA Rule 204 ensures we are ready to meet the new requirements with confidence.”
AFS is already managing its produce and floral procurement on Procurant, and the majority of suppliers on the FSMA 204 Food Traceability List are preconfigured to provide accurate traceability information electronically via Procurant’s platform. The software integrates traceability data directly with purchase orders, enabling a more comprehensive view of product information and transaction history than stand-alone traceability or labeling systems, according to Procurant.
The company supports various supplier connection methods, among them EDI, APIs, manual entry and bulk file uploads, making compliance possible for suppliers of all technical capacities. Further, the Procurant’s platform includes preconfigured reports created to meet FDA standards as laid out in the FSMA Rule 204 regulation.
[RELATED: Exclusive: How Traceability Shortcuts Can Prove Costly to Food Safety]
“We are honored to expand our partnership with AFS to include FSMA Rule 204 compliance,” said Eric Peters, CEO of Watsonville, Calif.-based Procurant, whose platform is employed by grocery retailers and produce suppliers throughout North America. “Traceability and food safety are critical for modern grocery operations, and Procurant is proud to support AFS in meeting these new standards while continuing to innovate and optimize their supply chain processes.”
Serving nearly 450 retailers across the Intermountain West, AFS is a grocery retailer cooperative supplying independently owned retail supermarkets throughout the western United States. It is No. 73 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2024 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.
