Produce to be "Tracked" using radio frequency

[Guest]

Well big brother is beginning to watch Hawaii's Produce in a Pilot program that is beginning.

" The Hawaii Department of Agriculture will rollout a three-year pilot project this month to track and trace tomatoes and other produce using radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. The system uses microchips with paper-thin antennae stuck onto produce boxes that emit radio waves when scanned.....

In the event of a recall, the state wants to be able to trace a product to the farm of origin and identify where inventories were sent - all within a few minutes.

The state said the system will also help improve quality and freshness as well as create a database of all produce being shipped and sold....."

-------
The more we speak up... the more they will listen.

[hpp4me]

This approach is starting to be used elsewhere. Food contamination is a real problem that kills thousands of people a year. This technology allows authorities to identify the source. This saves lifes and prevents economic harm to growers who were not responsible for the contamination.

I am personally glad that my "big brother" is doing this! This is a good example of the kind of thing government should do, IMHO!

Here is a good article on the topic: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol5no5/mead.htm

[gtill]

Boy this ought to pretty much kill off the few small farmers trying to start out, now you need an IT division, and all waterproof units!
Be good though for the Highend 10$ lb range fed beef or beefalo, or 20$ chickens, proof of authenciticy could add a few $ to the lb.!

[hpp4me]

The cost of the microchip tag is only about 7 cents if bought in volume. Given the cost of having your entire crop destroyed because contamination on someone else's farm brings you under suspicion, its a small price to pay. Not every apple, head of lettuce, etc., needs to be tagged, by the way.

Still, I agree that the state would need to provide technical assistance to the farmer.

We are going to see this technology used in a lot of ways. There is now talk of "tagging" each patient, for instnace, to make sure that you get your appendix removed, if that's your problem, and not your leg.