Vietnamese fishermen will use RFID to track seafood

According to Paul Chang, IBM’s Global Emerging Technology Business Strategy Director, the first application of VASEP will be launched at the end of June or early July this year. Although VASEP has not yet determined the seafood manufacturers participating in the test, those who ship seafood to Europe and the United States that have adopted RFID systems The manufacturer of the retailer will be the main participant in the project.

Suppliers may use barcodes, two-dimensional barcodes or RFID to track seafood at the source. The specific technology has not yet been determined. Chang said that the project will only be officially launched when the manufacturers participating in the test are selected. However, he said that IBM encourages the use of RFID technology because it has advantages over barcodes. Barcode technology requires linear scanning to collect data, while RFID tags carry information through radio frequency signals, without linear scanning.

Regardless of the automatic identification technology used by the manufacturer, all tracking data of food from the collection point to the retail shelf will be stored in software that complies with the EPCglobal Electronic Product Code Information Service (EPCIS) standard. The standard allows multiple partners in the supply chain to capture and share data using a common data format and protocol. IBM’s InfoSphere Traceability Server software uses this standard, which can be used as a database to enable trading partners to track products that flow through the global supply chain.

FXA Group, a food traceability software provider based in Bangkok, will work directly with manufacturers to help them obtain serial global trade identification numbers (GTINs). IBM will then collect these numbers, and FXA software data (such as the time, place and person receiving seafood)-store them in the InfoSphere traceable server software. In this way, transporters and participating retailers can record the supply chain and supplement the data they receive, process, and forward each item.

FXA Group has cooperated with two shrimp exporters in Thailand. These two suppliers use low-frequency RFID passive tags that comply with the ISO 11785 standard and operate at 134.2 kHz to trace the source of the shrimp. In the event of a recall, the system allows suppliers to respond more quickly and track contaminated shrimp; the system can also make food processing steps more effective.

Only by realizing close tracking of food throughout the supply chain can the safety of food be ensured or the source of contamination can be quickly located. Earlier this year, salmonella contamination in a peanut processing plant in the United States caused 27,000 people to be poisoned and 9 people died.

At present, seafood sold in the United States must carry a country of origin label, but the US Congress is still considering some bills proposed by the American Public Safety Association and other public health organizations to improve food safety. However, the use of passive RFID tags or barcodes cannot allow manufacturers to confirm the food storage temperature. Chang admits that more transparency in the seafood supply chain is an important first step; eventually, these manufacturers may use battery-powered or active RFID tags with integrated temperature sensors to track the location of the goods while ensuring that it is stored or transported Keep a proper refrigerating temperature on the way.

“We hope that our cooperation with VASEPR will become a reference model for other countries to improve food traceability applications. To solve global issues like food safety, the joint cooperation of government agencies, industries and technology providers is required,” Chang said.