In a major step forward for the foodservice industry, IFMA The Food Away from Home Association has partnered with Starfish - the only neutral traceability network linking all supply-chain systems - to help its members stay ahead of evolving food safety and compliance requirements while realizing new business benefits from data connectivity.

(PRUnderground) November 2nd, 2025

IFMA The Food Away from Home Association today announced a strategic partnership with Starfish, the leading neutral data-sharing network for global food supply-chain traceability, to accelerate Food Traceability Rule (FSMA 204) compliance for foodservice manufacturers.

Through this collaboration, the association is providing its members with complimentary access to Starfish’s FSMA 204 compliance and data-sharing services, — offering manufacturers the fastest and most practical path to meeting FSMA 204 requirements and a foundation for realizing real return on investment (ROI) from traceability initiatives.

This partnership reflects IFMA, The Food Away from Home Association’s commitment to helping its members stay ahead of evolving regulatory, customer, and market expectations in food safety and supply-chain transparency. With enforcement of the FDA’s Food Traceability Rule (FSMA 204) approaching, the association identified Starfish as the most effective and scalable solution to help manufacturers exchange traceability data with trading partners, regardless of which systems each company uses.

“Our members rely on a wide range of technologies across the food supply chain, and interoperability has long been one of their biggest challenges,” said Phil Kafarakis, President and CEO of IFMA The Food Away from Home Association. “Starfish’s neutral approach — connecting all platforms without requiring anyone to change their systems — is exactly what the industry needs. This partnership ensures our members can comply with FSMA 204 while also positioning themselves to gain measurable value from their data.”

A Neutral Platform Connecting the Food Industry

Starfish is an advanced technology platform that brings together traceability, EDI, analytics, document sharing, and sustainability tools in one connected system. It enables companies to manage and exchange the data required for regulatory compliance, supply-chain visibility, and environmental reporting — all without changing their existing systems. From automating FSMA 204 traceability records to transmitting EDI transactions, sharing certificates, and analyzing supplier or product performance, Starfish provides the infrastructure companies need to meet compliance requirements today while building a smarter, more transparent supply chain for the future.

Starfish serves as the connectivity layer for the global supply chain, linking manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and solution providers through a secure, standards-based, and interoperable network.

As the only neutral platform in the market, Starfish eliminates the silos created by proprietary or single-vendor traceability systems — allowing every participant, from growers to restaurant operators, to connect once and communicate with all of their trading partners.

This neutrality aligns directly with the association’s mission to unite the Food Away from Home community and enables companies to continue using their existing systems — whether ERP, WMS, EDI, or custom databases — while Starfish automatically translates and harmonizes data into the formats required by their partners.

With over 100 integrations already established across traceability, ERP, EDI, WMS, TMS, and document management platforms, IFMA members can immediately exchange Key Data Elements (KDEs) required under FSMA 204 with hundreds of thousands of food companies — without new integrations, system replacements, or added IT complexity.

Fastest Path to Compliance — and the Smartest Path to ROI

Together, IFMA and Starfish are helping members move beyond compliance to unlock the business value of traceability data. Once data begins to flow, manufacturers can expect measurable benefits including:

• Faster, more accurate product tracebacks that strengthen recall readiness.
• Improved operational visibility across inventory, production, and cold-chain performance.
• Greater trust and transparency with customers, powered by verified, auditable data exchange.
• Actionable insights, as traceability data fuels forecasting, waste reduction, and sustainability reporting.

“We’re honored to partner with IFMA The Food Away from Home Association and serve its community of leading food manufacturers,” said Wiggs Civitillo, Founder and CEO of Starfish. “Traceability is no longer just about compliance — it’s about empowering companies with the data they already generate to make smarter, safer, and more sustainable decisions across the supply chain.”

IFMA The Food Away from Home members can enroll for complimentary access to Starfish’s FSMA 204 compliance and traceability services through the Member Portal at www.starfish-network.com/ifma-members. Participation includes access to the FSMA traceability portal, powered by Starfish, with traceability and reporting services.

About IFMA

IFMA The Food Away from Home Association, is a trade association founded in 1952. The organization empowers, nurtures, and connects an inclusive and diverse $1.5 trillion food-away-from-home ecosystem of manufacturers, distributors, operators, and others. By sharing insights, fostering best practices, and developing networking and educational opportunities through events, IFMA The Food Away from Home Association, informs and instructs its members, and motivates change to improve both individual organizations and the food-away-from-home industry at large.Learn more at www.ifmaworld.com.

About Starfish Technology Inc

Starfish is the leading network for supply chain traceability, helping food companies share data with partners using the systems they already trust. By harmonizing data across systems, Starfish enables secure, real-time collaboration across the supply chain. Designed for interoperability, security, and automation, it empowers businesses to unlock better insights, reduce risk, and build more connected, compliant, and resilient supply chains. Learn more at www.starfish-network.com.

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Original Press Release.