RFID Ensures Traceability

But things do go awry, a photo of a shipment of bagged spinach and broccoli that had been air freighted into Hawaii in temperature protective packaging but ended up sitting on the blacktop at a freight forwarder at a temperature of 91°F. This is an example of a broken cold chain. Either that or there is no need to steam the spinach when the consumer takes it home.

Collecting, Transmitting Data

Suppose we did have the capability of measuring temperature and microbes throughout the supply chain. Also suppose we could use an RFID system to collect and transmit measurement data to a centralized system? What might it look like? depicts a farm-to-fork supply chain with various types of measurement devices—sensors—feeding data into an RFID backbone.

Think about feedback this way. Customers taking produce off of a retail shelf are creating demand. They are pulling food through the supply chain. They create a pull system. When the produce manager sees the shelf running low, he pulls produce from the store cooler and restocks the shelf. The cooler manager sees the inventory in the cooler at a low level and calls the distributor to get more shipped. The distributor ships to the store, thus reducing the distributor inventory levels, so the farmer is notified to bring more into the distributor the next day. Produce flows like money though our hands. It rarely stops for long—if things are working correctly.

If we study sensor measurement a different way and add the third dimension, feedback, we can quickly envision a system that is measuring, communicating, and feeding data back to the next operation, data that may be used to study previous operations. The farmer, for example, can watch measurements of his produce through all later steps in the supply chain: packaging, transportation, retail, and so on. And if the retailer sees a problem, the data trail for a particular case can be recalled, analyzed, and worked on. In the case of a retailer receiving wilted lettuce, the system can quickly identify where the cold chain was broken.

Of more critical importance is the ability of the system to issue alerts when the cold chain is broken or when microbial contaminants are discovered. It is this alert capability that allows us to begin controlling food safety and quality. Again, the closer the data is to real time, the quicker we can intercept, remove, isolate, and eliminate potentially dangerous produce or meat—or any poor quality food.

RFID Searches for Its Place

A traceability system that exists only for the purpose of traceability or for business improvement purposes has not yet found its proper place in the world. Traceability—indeed RFID-enabled traceability—provides the backbone for establishing food supply chain quality controls.

In spite of the weaknesses inherent in visual inspection, refocusing current food safety inspection specialists will allow a broader penetration of the market while improving the ability to assure food safety. Current audit strategies use 20- to 30-page checklists full of rubber ruler data strategies.

Audits that spend time, energy, and money rating various processes with statements such as the following are simply a waste of time because they meet no known measurement reliability or repeatability criteria:

• Water quality is known to be adequate for the crop irrigation method and/or chemical application.
• If necessary, steps are taken to protect irrigation water from potential contamination.
• The farm sewage treatment system is functioning properly and there is no evidence of leaking or runoff.
• Processing water is sufficiently treated to reduce microbial contamination.

What, exactly, is meant by “adequate,” “sufficient,” or “proper?” Why spend time and money on such inadequate measurement attempts? Again, the ability to separate, isolate, control, and recall is paramount, but these are only a few of the issues involved with traceability.