California State Polytechnic University researches the use of RFID and sensors to prevent the production of E. coli
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A research team composed of several universities in the United States has received a $600,000 national food safety project fund from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for a three-year study-using RFID sensors to track leafy green vegetables in the supply chain The temperature and humidity conditions. Led by a team of scientists from California State Polytechnic University, the research-planned to be fully launched in the first quarter of 2010-hopes to determine when and under what conditions “high-risk” products begin to produce foodborne pathogen infections.
Researchers will place RFID sensors in the agricultural product containers in the transport trucks to measure the temperature and humidity levels, the timing of fluctuations and how they may affect the production of E. coli or other pathogens in the retailer’s agricultural products. For example, the humidity level will affect the permeability of green food plastic packaging, thereby reducing the shelf life of agricultural products. The researchers also hope to use the research results to provide training for packaging and distribution professionals, and to prevent the occurrence of food-borne pathogens by monitoring fresh food during transportation and distribution.
The study will include at least four packaging plants for agricultural products, as well as major retailers, truck companies, and distribution centers. The research team uses Sensor Wireless’ Active Wireless Sensor (AWS) 2.4 GHz ZigBee RFID tag with embedded temperature and humidity sensors. The tag sends information to a GPS receiver (used to track the location of the truck and send data through a GPRS connection) The central receiving station.
The research will focus on leafy green vegetables, as E. coli is common in these types of agricultural products. Since 1993, at least 25 E. coli outbreaks have been traced to leafy green vegetables, mainly lettuce and spinach. At present, there is basically no tracking of temperature and humidity in the commercial transportation of leafy vegetables, said Keith Vorst, associate professor and main research investigator at California State Polytechnic University. For this reason, the research team is very interested in obtaining the visibility of agricultural products under transportation and warehouse storage conditions.
E. coli is commonly found in leafy green vegetables such as lettuce and spinach
Using AWS technology, researchers can receive real-time data on the status of lettuce and spinach, according to Sensor Wireless chairman Wayd McNally-although most of the data in the initial research was only studied in the final stage of the shipment.
When the east coast, west coast, and midwest of the container with green vegetables are loaded onto the truck, California State Polytechnic University will place AWS sensors in the container, and a total of 5 trucks in each area are tracked. Since the loading and unloading of goods in the distribution center (including mixed pallets with products from multiple regions) will make the temperature and humidity tracking of the goods in the environment more complicated, the researchers put the sensors in the boxes , Not on the pallet.
The sensor measures the temperature and humidity around the agricultural products in the truck every two minutes, and then sends the data to a Sensor Communication Interface (SCI) device from Sensor Wireless, which functions like an RFID reader. SCI in turn sends data, including location information, to the Sensor Wireless software running on the server via GPRS signals. Regardless of whether the truck is on a loading dock or on a highway, as long as there is a cellular connection, the SCI will send data every two minutes.
The Sensor Wireless software compiles the data, and the researcher obtains sensor and location information. If the temperature and humidity exceed the preset threshold, the software will send an alarm to the designated contact point of California State Polytechnic University. SCI sends information every two minutes. Researchers will receive 720 temperature and humidity reading records sent by each sensor every 24 hours. According to how many of the 15 trucks are working, there are a maximum of 450 at any time. Sensors send information.
GPRS modules are installed in every packaging factory and distribution center, although Vorst said that he expects some parts of the supply chain to not be cellular. If an SCI cannot find the GPRS signal, it will store the sensor data until it enters another signal distance. In retail stores, the sensor is taken out of the produce box and reused for other goods, and then lettuce and spinach are sold to consumers.
At the same time, researchers will reuse temperature and humidity data to reconstruct the temperature and humidity conditions experienced by vegetables during transportation. In the simulation experiment, a batch of mixed salads or other leafy vegetables will be planted into E. coli to facilitate researchers to study the growth of pathogens.
Vorst hopes that this research will solve a problem: to determine whether this technology can be used in the food industry to prevent food diseases. “The food industry must not allow the existence of food-borne pathogens, but it is clear that this happens all the time. Some pathogens may occur in the supply chain. He said that people currently understand the environmental conditions of agricultural products in the supply chain. Very little.
This is the first phase of the research. The first year of the research will include tracking road vehicles and obtaining cargo temperature and humidity data. The next year will be used for data analysis. Later, Vorst said, researchers will set up wireless sensing technology in retail stores to track the temperature and humidity of products on containers or in warehouses.
If this system works as expected, McNally said that the food industry will use the Sensor Wireless solution to track the condition of fresh food. The price of each SCI is US$200, and the cost of acquiring sensor data per month is US$40-60.
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