FSMA204HubAuthor
Anas Marwan
Co-founder, Darza Technologies
I build software for niches most software teams don't want to work in. A decade of product and platform engineering, most of it spent at the intersection of backend systems and real operator workflows. FSMA204Hub is the first product I've shipped under Darza.
I write about FSMA 204 because I'm the one building the product — not because I'm a food-safety credentialed expert. What you'll find here are field notes from building a traceability tool with real small-producer customers in the loop. When I'm wrong about the regulation, buyers tell me and I update the product and the posts.
If you're a small food producer with a retailer questionnaire sitting in your inbox and you want a second pair of eyes before you answer it, email me at [email protected].
Posts
- 15 min read
What actually happens during a Costco food safety audit
A Costco food safety audit runs 1-2 days, is capped at $2,300 a day, and ends on a 14-day corrective action clock. What happens, from Costco's V3.0 documents.
- 11 min read
Wegmans EDI 856 ASN: the small supplier's setup guide
The Wegmans EDI 856 ASN decoded for a producer who has never done EDI: which transaction sets each flow path needs, what the ASN must carry, the certification sequence, and the manual alternative.
- 9 min read
Costco Addendum requirements: the 2-hour traceability test
Costco Addendum V3.0 scores traceability in two clauses worth 10 of 65 points. The 2-hour limit, 100% accountability, and the auditor-initiated trace.
- 7 min read
The supplier letter of guarantee: the 1938 document your audit folder is missing
What a continuing letter of guarantee actually is, the legal defense it comes from, what it does not prove, and how to build the one-PDF-per-supplier folder that passes a Whole Foods or ReposiTrak document check.
- 7 min read
Every major grocer's traceability deadline has already passed. FDA's is 2028.
Walmart, Kroger, and Wegmans all set supplier traceability deadlines that expired in 2025. Aldi, H-E-B, Meijer, and Publix have earlier-than-FDA dates too. A reference table of who requires what, and the one spec that satisfies all of them.
- 8 min read
Walmart supplier traceability requirements: the KDE nobody can produce, and the freight rejection waiting for it
Walmart's food traceability requirements took effect August 1, 2025, cover all food products, and carry freight rejection and fines. The three KDEs Walmart names, the SSCC-18 and GS1-128 label rules, and why the third KDE is the one small producers fail.
- 9 min read
Kroger supplier traceability requirements: why "it's not on the FTL" doesn't work here
Kroger's traceability program covers all food products, not just the Food Traceability List, and its supplier deadline passed in June 2025. The four asks decoded, the exact data Kroger wants per shipment, and what it means for a small producer.
- 14 min read
Cyclospora, iceberg lettuce, and the traceback the lab test couldn't do: an FSMA 204 teardown for leafy-greens producers
FDA traced the 2026 Cyclospora iceberg lettuce outbreak to one supplier using distribution records and patient interviews, after the lab sample came back a false positive. Here is that same traceback run on a fictional small leafy-greens grower, exactly where it breaks, and how to fix it before a buyer asks.
- 10 min read
The FSMA 204 KDE checklist: what to capture at receiving, transformation, and shipping
Every Key Data Element FSMA 204 requires at each Critical Tracking Event, straight from 21 CFR 1.1340, 1.1345, and 1.1350, translated into the columns a small producer actually keeps.
- 13 min read
The 24-hour traceback drill: an hour-by-hour FSMA 204 mock recall for a small producer
A clock-running, hour-by-hour FSMA 204 mock recall for a small food producer. One fictional creamery lot, an FDA 24-hour traceback request, exactly where the trail breaks, and how to run the traceback exercise yourself.
- 11 min read
Wegmans supplier traceability requirements: the four asks, decoded
Wegmans supplier traceability requirements run ahead of FSMA 204 and are live now. The four concrete asks (EDI 856 ASN, SSCC, GS1-128, FTL self-ID), decoded for a small producer.
- 8 min read
Does FSMA 204 require GS1? GTINs, barcodes, and what small producers actually need
FSMA 204 does not require GS1, GTINs, or barcodes. FDA's rule is technology-agnostic. Here is what the rule actually mandates, why everyone assumes GS1, and when a small producer genuinely needs it.
- 7 min read
FDA's June 15 lot-level traceability meeting: the pain points the industry raised
FDA held its June 15 lot-level traceability meeting and published the discussion paper behind it. Here are the real pain points the industry flagged, and why almost none of them are about you if you are a small producer.
- 7 min read
How to assign a Traceability Lot Code: chevre, almond butter, and fresh-cut greens (worked examples)
Three worked examples of how to assign a Traceability Lot Code under FSMA 204, with the exact lot code format, when you assign it, and where it has to travel.
- 9 min read
Costco supplier traceability requirements (2026 edition)
Costco supplier traceability requirements sit above FSMA 204 and are enforced now. The program layers, where small producers fail, and an audit prep plan.
- 9 min read
TLC vs. KDE vs. CTE: the three FSMA 204 concepts producers keep mixing up
TLC vs KDE vs CTE under FSMA 204, explained in plain English. What each term means, where it lives in your operation, and a worked chevre example.
- 9 min read
ReposiTrak supplier onboarding: a 7-day playbook
A small producer's survival guide to ReposiTrak. What it checks, what to answer fast, the four traps that cost a week, and a day-by-day plan.
- 11 min read
How to pass a Whole Foods supplier audit
Whole Foods stacks four audits, not one. What each one checks, where small producers usually fail, and a 2-week prep plan to pass cleanly.
- 9 min read
FSMA 204 vs HARPC: the difference for small producers
HARPC prevents contamination before it ships. FSMA 204 traces it after. Here's how to tell them apart and what records each one demands.
- 10 min read
What is a lot code on food? The FSMA 204 TLC, explained
What a lot code on food actually is, how lot coding works, and how an everyday lot code differs from the FSMA 204 Traceability Lot Code (TLC).
- 8 min read
What your retailer's FSMA 204 questionnaire is asking for
A plain-English breakdown of the data retailers want under FSMA 204: what to send, what to skip, and the three fields that decide your shelf space.