Application of RFID in vegetable supply chain at home and abroad

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  1 Introduction

Cucumbers, tomatoes, tomatoes and other vegetables are the necessities of people’s daily life, and their safety issues have increasingly become the focus of people’s attention. How to ensure the safety and nutrition of edible vegetables is imminent.

RFID is commonly known as electronic tags. On August 8, 2007, on the first anniversary of the countdown to the Beijing Olympics, new ID cards were used for the three major categories of Olympic food, prepackaged food, fruit and vegetable food, and livestock and poultry products. Currently, supermarkets, bus IC cards and China’s second-generation ID cards have all applied this technology. It is a breakthrough in Olympic history to use it for the safety of Olympic food. It can dynamically collect and analyze factors in the production, processing, and transportation of Olympic food through a responsive background information system, complete the monitoring of food from the source to the final, and strengthen food safety management.
  
The “Barcode Vegetables” that passed the identification of scientific and technological achievements were fully listed in Carrefour Shenzhen’s 7 stores. Since 2006, relevant departments in Shenzhen have begun to introduce the EU EAN barcode management system that is universally accepted worldwide. The information database behind the EAN bar code records in detail the product name, planting company name, certification information, origin or processing place, drug use, quarantine and testing and other information. This information is made available to the public through the Internet. These barcodes are like the “identity cards” of vegetables. Consumers can use the barcodes to inquire relevant information on the webpage of the Shenzhen Agricultural Inspection Station, and the government supervision department can use their handheld computers to spot check products on the market at any time. In addition, in the event of a sudden food safety incident, this mark can be used to trace, quickly recall related products, trace the cause of the quality problem, and hold accountable.
  
American fruit and vegetable producers use RFID systems to track agricultural products from picking to delivery to distributors and retailers. The RFID system provides the manufacturer with farm management and food safety data.
  
 2 Application of RFID in the vegetable supply chain
  
The vegetable supply chain, like most agricultural product supply chains, also includes five links: production, processing, warehousing, transportation, and sales. The key to improving the efficiency of the fresh vegetable supply chain is how to coordinate the five links and how to improve the efficiency of each link.

It can be seen from the whole vegetable supply chain that through the use of RFID technology, the information of each link in the entire supply chain can be easily read into the public database, and each link can also easily increase the data of the corresponding link. Consumers and relevant authorities can also inquire and trace through communication networks and terminals.
  
2.1 Production link
  
Production links mainly refer to relatively large-scale and standardized vegetable planting bases. Since such production bases generally implement large-scale planting and intensive operation, they have the conditions to adopt RFID technology. A label can be set for each plot or variety, and the necessary information in the entire process of the plot or the variety of vegetables from planting to packaging and marketing can be entered in time through the reading or input device, such as vegetable Variety, growth time, name and frequency of spraying pesticides, fertilizers used, harvest time, etc., and even a description of the characteristics of the species. According to the agricultural product coding standards, a number is set for each type of vegetable as the unique identification of its identity. In this way, when this variety of vegetables completes the first link of the supply chain, the electronic tag (or radio frequency card) has already stored all its basic information. When the purchasing company purchases vegetable varieties on any plot, it uses data collectors to collect information on farmers and agricultural products, which not only accelerates the acquisition speed and reduces the error rate, but also provides agricultural products processing enterprises with POS systems, EDI, and The basic data of e-commerce and other systems provide source data for product traceability.
  
2.2 Processing link
  
Since the electronic label can easily add information, and the information contained in the electronic label can be read first in the processing link, the processing enterprise can add necessary information according to its own needs and the requirements of the relevant competent authorities, such as processing unit, processing date, processing process Additives used, packaging weight, etc. After the data of the processing enterprise is enriched, the origin information and processing link information have been stored in the electronic label, so that the end consumer can query the product information through the query terminal in the retail or wholesale market, and the relevant information can be seen at a glance. Traceability after an accident has also become easier and feasible.
  
2.3 Warehousing
  
As a seasonal product, vegetables have higher requirements on the storage environment, especially in the case of poor storage environment, the storage time of vegetables in the warehouse should be reduced. For vegetables that need to be stored in the warehouse, the electronic label data is read before entering the warehouse, and its packaging specifications, packaging weight, etc. are automatically read into the computer. After processing by the computer, the inventory information is formed according to the characteristics of the warehouse, and the storage location, Instructions for shelves and cargo spaces. When counting, the terminal reads the electronic label on the vegetable package and records the counted quantity in real time. After the on-site inventory is completed, the inventory staff confirms the number of inventory and uploads it to the back-end database. The back-end database compares the data uploaded in real time with the data in the system. If there is a difference in the quantity, the system will automatically generate the inventory difference table, and then submit the data to the superior or instruct the terminal to repeat the inventory. The inventory data can be automatically changed without too much manual involvement during delivery.
  
The use of RFID technology greatly speeds up the storage and inventory counting speed, reduces the error rate, and also provides convenience for the use of computers for inventory management and increasing the degree of automation of warehouse management.

2.4 Transport link
  
The application of RFID technology in the transportation of fresh vegetables is mainly reflected in the monitoring, tracking and crossing inspection of goods in transit. The combination of RFID technology and GPS (Global Positioning System) can provide logistics companies with real-time monitoring and tracking services. At the same time, for owners, they can also easily know where their goods have reached and whether their goods have been dropped through the computer network. . When passing through some crossings for inspection, the inspection unit does not need to open the vegetable packaging, as long as the electronic label reading terminal can know the specific content of the package, which greatly improves the speed of crossing inspection and relieves the pressure of crossing congestion.
  
2.5 Sales link
  
The application of RFID technology in the retail sector is embodied in the theft prevention of packaged vegetables in retail stores or supermarkets, monitoring of vegetable expiration dates, and temporary sales. RFID anti-theft technology is to put electronic tags into the packaging of goods, and the computer system can monitor the tags of various goods in the store in real time through the on-site readers and other supporting facilities. In this way, retailers can safely open shelves for sale. Some smart electronic tags can also monitor the expiration date of certain time-sensitive commodities, such as tracking a certain food or medicine. Once it exceeds the expiration date, the label will issue a warning. When necessary, such as during peak sales during holidays, the RFID terminal can also be used as a cash register to realize automatic scanning and billing, so as to alleviate the pressure of checkout at the cashier when customers are selling.

 Application examples in the U.S. vegetable supply chain

In order to convert RFID data into usable information, manufacturers use the GreenTrace Food Safety Solution software platform developed by In SyncSoftware synchronization software.

In Sync Software also provides system integration services for the application. The application of green tracking food safety solutions brings visibility to farm operations, helping managers to determine the time spent in any place of the product; if there is a return, it can be traced back and analyzed for operational efficiency. This manufacturer uses EPCGen2 RFID tags and readers produced by multiple manufacturers.

Usually, fruit and vegetable producers will record the harvesting process of their products in detail. First, the staff will fill in the form used by the farmer to identify the workers, filling in the information including the health of each person and any information that may affect the agricultural products being picked. Then, use the same written record to track the amount of agricultural products picked, the area where the product is located and the time spent.

The Green Tracking Food Safety Solution System eliminates numerous manual filling steps in the picking process. Now, when the product is picked, the staff can automatically obtain the relevant electronic data without manually recording the time and location. This manufacturer applies EPCGen2RFID tags to corrugated boxes, cardboard boxes and reusable plastic containers and pallets, as shown in the picture. When bringing these loading tools to the picking point, workers use a handheld RFID reader running In Sync software with GPS function to read the tag ID number of a certain container, and then enter the data into the mobile phone, such as personal information and work location .


Corrugated boxes with RFID tags

When the container is full of products and loaded on the pallet, the worker scans the container label again. The RFID data of the handset, together with the GPS location, will be sent to the company’s back-end system via a cellular network or satellite communication connection. When the products arrive at the manufacturer’s processing plant, they are weighed, cooled, and other transportation preparations are carried out. The RFID reader will record each process. First, a fixed RFID reader captures the container’s tag ID number on the weighing platform to confirm that these products have been weighed. The tag ID number, date, time and weight are recorded in the back-end system. When the container enters or leaves the cold room, a fixed reader installed at the door of the cold room reads the tags again.

Fruits or vegetables are processed in different ways: for example, lettuce can be packaged in bags, frozen or sold in bulk. The processed product is printed with a batch number on the packaging bag, and the batch number corresponds to the RFID tag of the container. Containers and processed products are scanned one last time before being loaded into the transport vehicle. The manufacturer also plans to use temperature sensors in the future. At that time, the sensor will be wired to the RFID tag on the container; if the temperature of the product is too hot or too cold and exceeds the system’s pre-set limit, the system will automatically send an email to notify the manufacturer. The system can also set limits to monitor the temperature and time of the product outside the cooling chamber, because how long the product can be stored in the storage room or at what temperature must be stored, different products are different.
If the product is found to be contaminated, the manufacturer can use the green tracking food safety solution to trace back the product picking and processing process. For example, a package of contaminated lettuce can be traced to the container where it was packed. When the manufacturer receives the batch number of the contaminated product sent by the retailer, it can enter the green tracking food safety solution software to locate all containers that have stored this batch number of products; this allows the manufacturer to determine the possible location of the product, and then Identify other products that may appear in the same place at the same time.

  4 RFID escorts Olympic vegetables

Every vegetable in the Olympic Village is affixed with a bar code label. This is an electronic ID card for each vegetable. It records the birthplace, production and processing links of each vegetable and other related information. These electronic ID cards use advanced RFID (non-contact radio frequency identification) technology, which will track and monitor Olympic food throughout the process. In other words, during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, when an athlete swiped his card to eat, he could use his badge reading device to read which foods he ate and where the food came from, including the selected recipes, food ingredients, the food’s distribution center, and production. Processing companies and even the ultimate source farmland planting and breeding information. By then, from the table to the farmland, any problems will be quickly found, and timely control measures can be taken to eliminate the hazards to the greatest extent.

As shown in the picture, a box of 3 cucumbers has just been packaged and labeled. It seems that this is no different from all cucumbers. How to prove its safety? In fact, the mystery lies in the barcode on it. Next to it is a edible agricultural product quality and safety traceability system machine of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Agriculture. Pick up this box of cucumbers and point the barcode at the scanning port. The screen immediately displays the three types of information about the three cucumbers. : Producer information, product information, field history information. Click on the field resume information, showing: Planting on May 3, cultivation area 0.8 mu, density 140 × 30 cm; fertilizer application information, chicken fertilizer, compound fertilizer on May 3, May 16, June 11, Chong Shi Fertilizer ⋯⋯ pesticide application information on June 20, Chlorothalonil and Chloracloprid on May 20, Qingyuanbao, Chloracloprid #8943;#8943; from information on June 2 It can be traced back to any time and place, and the latter is even down to the numbered greenhouse in the planting base. The barcode is like a vegetable ID card, and inside it is the credit record of the vegetable resume. Once a problem occurs, the traceability of the information will ensure that the problem is found in the shortest time so that it can be solved in the first time. A box of vegetables that have been packaged out of the base begins the process of delivering them to the designated venues of the Olympic Games.


Cucumber with label

Even in the refrigerated truck during transportation, these purple cabbage, lettuce, kale, celery, and green cauliflower have been cared for. The GPS positioning system of global satellite positioning and automatic temperature and humidity recording control, let The Olympic Vegetable realizes the monitoring of the whole process from the production base to the processing enterprise, the logistics distribution center to the Olympic Village. GPS positioning system is mainly to monitor the trajectory of the vehicle, if it exceeds the required route, it will automatically alarm. In fact, Beijing initiated the Olympic Food Safety Action Plan as early as 2005. The Olympic food safety traceability system has now completed the construction and construction of the first batch of 5 Olympic agricultural product (vegetable) suppliers, 41 processing and distribution companies, and 10 supermarkets. In operation, the traceability of aquatic edible agricultural products has also been piloted in 7 enterprises. It is understood that after the end of the Olympic Games, the Olympic vegetable supply guarantee system can comprehensively improve the overall level of Beijing’s vegetable safety production, transportation, processing and storage, and fresh-cut vegetables. At the same time, Beijing will continue to strengthen the construction of production bases. And control to grasp the source of food safety. At present, Beijing has implemented key monitoring on 45 categories of food, forming a monitoring network covering all links, laying a solid foundation for Olympic food safety. As the overall level of food safety monitoring in Beijing has been further improved, after 2008, Beijing will not lower its food safety standards due to the end of the Olympics, and citizens will be able to enjoy the Olympic banquets of athletes during the Olympics at any time.

5 concluding remarks

The application of RFID technology in the fresh vegetable supply chain can not only ensure the high-quality data exchange of the supply chain, but also realize the traceability of the food source and the complete transparency of the vegetable supply chain. This is because the RFID system provides a detailed and unique perspective of the supply chain by providing a separate identification and storage and transportation history for each vegetable product. Ensure that the source history of vegetable products arriving on supermarket shelves and restaurant kitchens is clear. I believe that after the first test of RFID technology during the Olympics, it will definitely open up a broader world!

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