Application and Development Countermeasure of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Technology in Food Safety Management
Radio frequency identification (Radio Frequency IdenTIficaTIon, RFID) technology is a non-contact automatic identification technology (hereinafter referred to as RFID technology) realized by radio frequency communication. Its tags have the characteristics of small size, large capacity, long life, reusability, etc. It can support fast reading and writing, non-visual identification, mobile identification, multi-target identification, positioning and long-term tracking management. RFID technology is listed as one of the ten important technologies of the 21st century as a high-tech and information standardization for fast, timely and accurate information processing.
In theory, after using RFID tags, each item will have a unique "identity card". RFID technology can be applied to various industries such as production, retail, logistics, manufacturing, transportation, and public information services through unique and effective identification of physical objects (including retail commodities, logistics units, containers, freight packaging, production parts, etc.). Improve management and operation efficiency and reduce costs.
In recent years, due to the frequent occurrence of food safety crises such as livestock and poultry diseases, severe pesticide residues in agricultural products, and the surge in imported food materials, it has seriously affected people's health and caused widespread concern throughout the world. An extremely urgent global issue. The application of RFID technology to food safety management, because of its characteristics, has played a very good application characteristics, through its corresponding background information system, to achieve food safety management.
1 Global RFID industry development trend
1) The global RFID industry market has grown tremendously.
In recent years, RFID technology in developed countries has been widely used in many fields such as society, economy, and national defense. It has shown huge development potential and application space in many fields of the national economy such as manufacturing and service industries and people ’s daily lives. It has a wide-ranging impact on the improvement of the informationization level of the entire society and the strengthening of national defense security.
In 2006, the global RFID market scale was 2.71 billion US dollars, and the compound annual growth rate from 2001 to 2006 was 31.7%. IDTechEx, a world-renowned market research company, has conducted extensive research on the RFID industry. According to its prediction, the value of the entire RFID market in 2016 will climb from US $ 2.71 billion in 2006 to US $ 26.23 billion, with a compound annual average growth rate. The rate remains at 25. 5% level.
2) China is the main battlefield of RFID industry blowout growth in the future.
According to Chen Wei, director of the Information Technology Promotion Department of the Ministry of Information Industry,
In 2005, the scale of China's RFID market had reached 3.69 billion yuan, and in 2006 this number increased substantially by nearly 6 billion yuan. Industry experts estimate that China's RFID market will grow steadily in the next few years, reaching 11.81 billion US dollars by 2011. Various signs indicate that the development of China's RFID market has accelerated since the end of 2005. Government departments, food safety, logistics, retail, industry, healthcare, SMEs and consumer industries are all areas with considerable development potential.
According to IDTechEx forecast, from 2006 to 2016, the global compound annual growth rate of the global RFID market will reach 25.5%, and the development rate in East Asia is particularly impressive, reaching 41.5%. The 14.81% in 2006 increased to nearly 50% in 2016, of which China, South Korea and Japan will undoubtedly be the growth hotspots in Asia. According to data from the authoritative research institute IDC, the annual compound growth rate of China's RFID market capacity from 2005 to 2009 will reach 65.5%. Therefore, in the next 10 years, China will be the main battlefield of RFID market blowout growth.
2 The significance of RFID technology applied to food safety management
With the development of the economy, the improvement of people's living standards and the transformation of consumer concepts, global consumers, manufacturers, suppliers and sellers have put forward higher requirements for food safety, ensuring food quality, reducing production costs and shortening Requirements such as delivery cycle and accurate access to food safety information have given RFID technology room to play in food safety management. With the support of computer technology, communication technology, optoelectronic technology and information technology, RFID technology displays its unique role in food safety management with the main features of rapid, accurate acquisition, transmission and feedback of information.
The food supply chain is mainly divided into three parts: planting and breeding; processing; storage and logistics. But these three simple parts have become increasingly refined in the real world. The food has more than a dozen intermediate links from raw materials to customer consumption. Therefore, how to better control all aspects of food processing, and to improve efficiency while ensuring that food safety issues are not wrong, has become the primary goal of all food manufacturers, the public, and government departments concerned and eager to solve.
Applying RFID technology to food safety can first establish accurate and complete food supply chain information. With its wireless transmission characteristics and the uniqueness and security of item identification, RFID technology can cover all information data of the entire process of the food supply chain on the label, and has completed a 100% traceable food source solution, which can answer consumers ’ Where did it come from, whether the intermediate processing link is perfect â€and other questions, and give detailed and reliable answers. RFID solutions provide efficient and detailed control of each item, creating a series of reliable food information throughout the food supply chain from farm to consumer table. So far, the application of RFID technology can accomplish two major food safety management objectives: food safety "source" traceability and transparent management of the food supply chain.
3 Application status of RFID technology in food safety management
1) The specific method of RFID technology application.
The use of RFID technology is like making an account book for food. The contents of the food account book include all stages of the food supply chain such as food cultivation / cultivation, processing, transportation, storage, and sales. The records of processing, storage, and sales of raw materials or food manufacturers or distributors are recorded through RFID tags. Can trace the root of food and its intelligence information, so as to realize the establishment of food safety traceability system. The specific process is as follows: â‘ At the source of food or raw materials, the company adds RFID tags and writes basic information of food or raw materials, such as origin, date of production, storage method and eating method, etc .; â‘¡ arrives at the food processing factory through storage and transportation, and the label Add the information of storage and transportation in the process; â‘¢ The processing plant completes the food processing, and writes the original records of raw materials and auxiliary materials and the information of the processing process to the RFID tag; â‘£ The quarantine bureau writes the quarantine information; Write information in logistics links; â‘¥ Go to supermarkets, farmers' markets, catering, fast food, and restaurants, and then write this layer of information into the final link of the tracking chain.
In the specific implementation process, there are two methods for using RFID food tags to achieve information tracking throughout the food supply chain: one is the backtracking from the downstream to the upstream direction called Tracing or Trace Back, which is that consumers find purchases from the sales link. Of food found safety problems, which can be traced back layer by layer to finally determine the problem. This kind of backtracking method is mainly used for the recall of problematic products.
The other is tracking from upstream to downstream called tracking (Tracking or Trace Forward), from the farm planting / breeding link-processing link-transportation link-sales link, this method is mainly used to find quality problems Reasons to determine the origin and characteristics of the product.
2) Application status in developed countries.
In many developed countries, food safety is extremely important, and RFID technology has been applied to the field of food and drug supervision internationally and has achieved good results. For example, the European Union began to establish a food traceability system in 1997, which is mainly used in the production and circulation of beef, to maintain the transparency of production and supervision and complete and detailed individual information of products; Australia has established a "national animal identification system" and management agency, Implementation of the national food safety management system; since 2001, Japan established a "food identification card system", that is, the agricultural product resume system, used to track the production and sales of agricultural products.
In foreign countries, many breeding farms have used RFID tags to monitor the basic status of poultry and animals (such as growth, health, circulation process, etc.), thus forming a complete industrial chain food safety control system. The whole process (breeding-feeding-slaughtering-dividing one by one packaging-transportation-dining table) strictly controlled industrial chain, to ensure that the market provides high-quality assured meat food. Once the quality of the pork being sold has a problem, it will be tracked and supervised in accordance with the label of the pork package.
3) Application status of RFID technology in China.
In recent years, Chinese consumers have experienced a series of shocking major food safety events, such as the "Red Heart Duck Egg", "Sudan Red" incident, "Duo Baoyu", Fuyang "Big Head Doll" inferior milk powder, Sichuan "S. suis "," Clenbuterol "poisoning, bird flu, etc., not only threaten the health and life of consumers, but also cause harm to society. Therefore, we should realize that food safety is a public safety issue that affects social harmony and stability. But at present, there are few examples of the application of the automatic traceability system in the entire food production process in China. The whole traceable supply chain of the domestic food industry has not yet been formed.
In the 948 project "Animal Product Quality and Safety Traceability System" of the Ministry of Agriculture, RFID technology is used in the entire process of animal husbandry food production, including feeding, epidemic prevention and sterilization, product processing, food circulation, etc., and the introduction of standardized technology Regulations and quality supervision measures to establish a "farm to table" food supply chain tracking and traceability system, so as to achieve scientific high-quality, high-level, high-efficiency, full-range feeding monitoring, safe production monitoring, market-based traceability The goal. At the end of September 2006, the first batch of "Golden Pigs" with RFID tags were listed in Chengdu, and the market response was very positive. In February 2007, China completed the establishment of a traceability system for the quality and safety of beef cattle production. At present, China has completed the application of RFID-based full quality and safety traceability of pigs and beef cattle, and has accelerated the demonstration and promotion process in major provinces and cities such as Shanghai, Guangdong, Anhui, Sichuan, and Beijing, which marks the whole process of meat food in China. Quality and safety traceability management has reached the international advanced level.
With the success and promotion of the application of RFID technology in food safety management, in order to welcome the 2008 Olympic Games and the 2010 World Expo, Beijing and Shanghai will use RFID technology to implement the Olympic / Expo food quality and safety traceability system by establishing the Olympic / Expo food safety traceability system , Serving the "Safe Olympics / Expo", and at the same time spreading the application results to the entire agricultural production industry. Among them, Beijing will launch the Olympic food safety traceability system for the first time in August 2007. At that time, it will determine l0 major categories such as grain and oil, soy products, vegetables, fruits, meat, poultry and eggs, dairy products, aquatic products, condiments, beverages, etc. The 345 varieties of Olympic food safety standards, the traceability system will cover 150 vegetable and aquatic product production bases and enterprises in Beijing.
4 Application risks of RFID technology in the field of food safety management
1) The cost of RFID products is relatively high.
For RFID applications, cost is still the primary issue. Lei Zhenzhou, deputy director of the Science and Technology Commission of the Telecommunications Research Institute of the Ministry of Information Industry, believes that RFID must achieve significant development, especially in the long-term development in China, and it must reduce costs before it can be used on a large scale.
The application of RFID technology in food safety management will require a single product to be labeled with RFID regardless of vegetables, eggs, and pork. At the same time, enterprises in the entire food supply chain must be equipped with RFID readers and antenna equipment. From the perspective of the scale of the national food sales market, the application of RFID technology in food safety management will drive the demand for large-scale RFID tags, readers and antenna equipment, but at the same time large-scale demand will also greatly increase the food supply chain. The production management cost of link companies is one of the main problems that hinder the large-scale explosive application of RFID technology.
2) Cost allocation and benefit allocation.
The application of RFID technology will definitely increase the input cost of RFID tags, readers and antennas. At the same time, the entry of data information also increases the labor cost to a certain extent; on the other hand, the application of RFID technology can improve logistics and The efficiency of the transportation link can also increase the selling price of food in order to obtain income. Therefore, from upstream production and processing manufacturers, intermediate link transportation, warehousing enterprises, to downstream sales terminals, how to allocate costs and benefit distribution in the entire food supply chain will be one of the main concerns of enterprises applying RFID technology.
3) Lack of unified standards.
Food supply involves a wide range, from the origin to processing, packaging, inspection and quarantine and even restaurants. If the coding system used by RFID tags is not uniform, or the frequency bands throughout the food supply chain are not uniform, it will cause information to be read and written. , The inconvenience of querying, tracking and tracing may not even realize the convenience brought by RFID technology. To a certain extent, due to the lack of a unified national standard for the application of RFID technology, it is easy to create barriers to trade between regions, and it also makes food safety standards on the market uneven, resulting in weakened consumers' ability to discern food safety and Do not trust food safety identified by RFID technology.
4) Information integrity risk.
The core of the food safety traceability system is a database, which records all the information in the entire food supply chain from "farm to table". It is through this database that consumers understand food safety information. However, in the entire supply chain, if there is any credibility crisis in any link such as planting and breeding; processing; quarantine; warehousing and logistics; The data recorded by the RFID tag is meaningless, and its marked safe food cannot convince consumers.
5 Development countermeasures of the application of RFID technology in food safety management
Looking at the experience of developing RFID industry in various countries in the world, the government plays an important role in it. The major RFID application projects in various countries are successfully launched and promoted under the background of government support. In the "White Paper on China's Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Technology Policy" launched in June 2006, my country clearly stated that the overall idea of ​​China's RFID industry development is: enterprises, government promotion, building industrial alliances, and forming independent intellectual property rights. RFID industry chain; through the construction of industrial bases, give play to the advantages of group strength and build a national brand with international competitiveness; carry out international exchanges and cooperation to improve the overall level of China's RFID industry.
However, food safety issues are closely related to consumer health and life safety, and are public safety issues that affect social harmony and stability. By adopting RFID technology in all aspects of food quality and safety, it is possible to integrate the food supply chain mechanism in which upstream and downstream enterprises cooperate with each other, share information, and complement each other to achieve the goal of optimal resource allocation. Therefore, the application of RFID technology in food safety management requires vigorous coordination and overall planning among our government, industries, enterprises, and R & D institutions to maximize the reasonable allocation of resources and complementary advantages.
1) Increase government support and promote key RFID technology breakthroughs.
Reducing the cost of RFID tags and the application of RFID technology in various types of food supply chains are key technologies that RFID technology urgently needs to tackle in food safety management applications. As the cost of RFID tags decreases, the government supports the expansion of the scale of application projects in the form of technology, talents, funds or policies, integrates resources across provinces and departments across a larger area, and optimizes the allocation of resources. It is recommended that the state increase support from policy and finance to promote the research and development and production of various RFID technologies and related products, support independent innovation of RFID technology, and strive to make China's overall food safety traceability management system reach the international advanced level.
2) Strengthen government education functions and actively promote demonstration projects.
Tracking and tracing management of meat products is a direction of the development of animal husbandry in the world today. The establishment of a complete quality and safety traceability system for the production of pigs and beef cattle in China marks that China ’s overall quality and safety traceability management in meat food has reached Has reached the international advanced level. The government should actively promote the implementation and application of the results of these projects, which is of great significance for strengthening the standardized management of meat products in China and promoting the healthy and sustainable development of the pig and beef cattle breeding industry. On the other hand, from the promotion of meat food to other food applications, it can not only accelerate the application process of other food safety management fields, but also provide a successful example for enterprises in all links of the food supply chain, including economic benefits, cost sharing , Profit distribution and operation process, etc., so that the cost and benefit problems caused by enterprises adopting RFID technology can be eliminated, and the application of RFID technology is promoted. The government actively promotes demonstration projects and strengthens the educational effect of successful experience, which is of great significance for promoting the healthy and sustainable development of China's food industry and transforming the economic growth mode.
3) Establish a unified coding standard, interlocking in the food supply chain.
Inconsistent coding systems or frequency bands used by enterprises in all links of the food supply chain to cause product information to fail will result in failure or incomplete reading of information by the final consumer. At the same time, downstream companies have added RFID tags for different coding systems in different frequency bands. The demand for readers makes food safety management projects uneconomical and inconvenient for information entry and reading, which ultimately leads to the failure of RFID technology applications. Therefore, the government takes the lead and organizes industry associations to cooperate with relevant national ministries and commissions to formulate industry standards and specifications as soon as possible and establish a unified food safety management coding system. In addition, the establishment of industry associations should help strengthen the interconnection between the various links in the food supply chain, so as to ensure the integrity of the entered information.
4) Build an intermediate application platform to solve the credibility crisis.
At present, most of the food production and operation of China adopts single-family operation, which is difficult to achieve scale effect. On the other hand, the loose connection between enterprises in various links in the food supply chain has caused the application of RFID technology in food safety management. Hinder. To this end, China's food safety management urgently needs to establish a perfect intermediate application service platform. This platform should be led by the government and organized by relevant ministries and industry leading companies. The services provided include: for all aspects of breeding / planting, processing, transportation, and sales Real-time monitoring and early warning of food safety status; collecting information of all links in the food supply chain and ensuring the reliability of information entered by enterprises; tracing food safety issues and formulating relevant punishment measures. Solve the credibility crisis that may exist in the application of RFID technology through the credibility of government agencies to make food safety management safer.
6 Conclusion
In recent years, there have been some major food safety incidents that have seriously endangered the health and life safety of consumers. How to effectively track and trace food has become an extremely urgent issue. At present, the research on food tracking and tracing has started quietly. The implementation of the whole process of tracing and tracing the supply chain of farm products from farm to table has become a goal and is expected by consumers. Relevant departments and enterprises are also actively working to promote their development to solve food quality and food safety issues.
Today, with food safety management issues imminent, RFID is unique in comparison with other identification technologies: identification requires no human intervention, can work in a variety of harsh environments, can identify high-speed moving objects, can simultaneously identify multiple tags, and read The advantages of long distance, strong penetrating ability, strong reading aroma, strong intelligence, long label life, large amount of information processing and accuracy, etc. have become the first choice for food safety supply chain. Food safety management is a complicated system control process and a public utility service project with significant impact. Although the full traceable supply chain of China's food industry has not yet been fully formed, with the overall quality and quality of meat products in China For the success and promotion of the safety traceability management project, the government should further increase support, promote and improve the application of RFID technology in the field of food safety management, develop core technologies, and focus on key research, which will eventually form a food safety management solution with independent intellectual property rights in China. Plan to build a food safety traceability management system suitable for China's national conditions.
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