Radio Frequency IDentification for Meat Supply-Chain Digitalisation

Abstract

Digitalised supply-chain traceability systems can offer wide prospects both for improving safety as well as enhancing perceived quality. However, the coupling between physical goods and information is often difficult for agri-food items. A solution could be the use of RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) systems. Due to its wide reading range, Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) technology is already widely used in logistics and warehousing, mostly for the identification of batches of items. A growing interest is also emerging in Near Field Communication (NFC), as several smartphones embed an integrated NFC antenna. This paper deals with the automatic identification of meat products at item level, proposing and evaluating the adoption of different RFID technologies. Different UHF and NFC solutions are proposed, which benchmark tag performances in different configurations, including four meat types (fatty beef, lean beef, chicken and pork), by using a specifically designed test bench. As avoiding the application of two different tags could be advantageous, dual frequency devices (UHF and NFC) are also considered. Significant differences in tag performances, which also depend on meat type and packaging, are highlighted. The paper highlights that tag positioning should consider the geometry of the packaging and the relative positioning of tag, meat and reader antenna.

Applications of Blockchain Technology in Logistics and Supply Chain Management—Insights from a Systematic Literature Review

“…On the one hand, these examples demonstrate the increased interest of food manufacturers in the trustworthy documentation of their products in a BC [37]. Many companies are already trying to gain the trust of consumers with the help of seals, such as the Fairtrade label, which is given by a Fairtrade organization under certain conditions.…”

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“…Three papers were found in the Food Cluster that addressed the tracking and tracing of meat (see: [12,28,29]). Barge et al (2020) focus on methods to better mark and identify meat, as they identified the problem of the interface between the physical meat and the digital information.…”

“…Three papers were found in the Food Cluster that addressed the tracking and tracing of meat (see: [12,28,29]). Barge et al (2020) focus on methods to better mark and identify meat, as they identified the problem of the interface between the physical meat and the digital information. According to Barge et al (2020), increased consumer confidence in food and producer reputation, especially for meat, have been shown to provide increased sales.…”

“…Barge et al (2020) focus on methods to better mark and identify meat, as they identified the problem of the interface between the physical meat and the digital information. According to Barge et al (2020), increased consumer confidence in food and producer reputation, especially for meat, have been shown to provide increased sales. In the area of meat, there have already been several food scandals, e.g., concerning diseases, which is why there are already laws regarding this in the EU.…”

“…For this purpose, the customer needs a 14 digit code, which is written on each package. This information is provided without the BCT [28].…”