Traceability: Giving every product an authentic identity

Traceable produce labels

RFID has a critical role to play in supply chains and has been widely tested as a means for tracking and tracing pharmaceuticals at the item level. RFID is actually a code-carrying technology, and can be used in place of a bar code to enable non-line-of-sight reading. Currently, however, RFID has a number of limitations that mean that bar codes still have a role to play. Specifically these include: tag cost, tag readability, and privacy issues. The cost of RFID tags (and thorough quality control requirements) currently limits their economic justification for item-level coding. Reading RFID tags requires specialized equipment, limiting their usefulness for consumers. Product orientation, packing density, and materials can have a significantly detrimental effect on read reliability. Finally, the widespread use of RFID tags on consumer goods is anticipated to be contentious until privacy concerns can be satisfied.