Interesting argument. The problem about this particular investigation (which I can only assume here) is that the available data did not offer relevant information about the tracking of the lettuce.

If the required information _did_ exist but wasn't accessible, then you are right in saying that the non-centralization of the data is a problem. I guess the problem then lies in the fact that information is siloed in different businesses. A solution to this could be the concept of federation, where all such businesses use an agreed-upon protocol/platform, but all can use the client of their choice.