Zebra Tech

Food Traceability and Safety a Must. Bar Coding and RFID a Plus.

  

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An article in April’s NRF STORES notes that for retailers and others throughout the food supply chain, “Strict new food safety laws … are some of the factors that are making supply chain visibility a business imperative.”

One of the most recent laws is the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act. Its passage in January now means the industry must institute end-to-end food traceability. Anyone along the food supply chain—from the grower to the grocer—is required to be able to produce at a moment’s notice from whom they obtained the food and to whom they sent it. Since the legislation will require food growers, manufacturers and distributors to record food origins from the field to the fork, finding the appropriate and affordable traceability technology will be critical. Bar coding technologies are an important first step in this compliance. Read more about the Act and some of the proposed food tracking technology solutions in our previous blog article.

Then, you might want to check out our white paper, which examines how the food industry can take advantage of bar code and radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies to improve safety, reduce operating expenses, meet compliance requirements, and improve efficiency. It covers:

•  How bar code and RFID support compliance with regulations such as the Bioterrorism Act , EU Food Law, and The Food Safety Enhancement Act (H.R. 2749)

•  Traditional uses and advantages of bar code data collection

•  Emerging technologies and standards, including Reduced Space Symbology® (RSS) bar codes, Electronic Product Code™ (EPC) RFID technology, and the GS1 Global Traceability Standard (GS1 DataBar™).

RFID is also a promising food traceability technology. For a cool example from University of Arizona researchers, read our past article “RFID Tracks Both a Field’s Productivity and the Field’s Produce.”

Are you a grocer, distributor or grower facing the need to comply with food safety regulations? What technologies will you deploy to meet those requirements?