Corporate Express Advances Fresh Produce Traceability Technology with HarvestMark

OMAHA, Neb.—Corporate Express Document & Print Management (CEDPM), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Corporate Express NV, announced an industry milestone with its launch of HarvestMark (www.harvestmark.com), a unique solution powered by YottaMark technology that instantly traces fresh produce via the Web or cell phone from the home or store all the way back to the specific ranch, field and date on which it was picked. This innovative solution proved successful in field trials earlier this year in Northern California.

CEDPM has partnered with YottaMark, a Redwood City, Calif.-based technology company that provides the technology behind HarvestMark, to provide a unit-level, consumer-facing traceability solution for field-packed fresh produce to give consumers confidence in, and information about, the safety of their food. As food safety becomes more important in consumers’ buying decisions, delivery of information such as traceability will become a critical competitive advantage for brands in the market.

Features of HarvestMark include:
• Unit-level traceability – provides timely, accurate and relevant information to consumers querying product using the Web or a cell phone.
• Unique, non-predictable codes – utilize tiny encrypted security marks printed on clamshell labels to uniquely identify products. Non-predictable codes both enhance the integrity of the system, and allow brand owners to use them for marketing campaigns.
• Quality surveys – collect product quality data from end consumers, and correlate aggregated results with harvest and supply chain information, to provide growers and brand owners uniquely valuable insight into their business.
• No IT integration required – a securely hosted, high-available service that requires no database for farmers to set up or maintain. Data integrity, fast implementation, and security are ensured.
• Low-cost solution – uses low-cost printed barcodes, is approximately 100 times less expensive than RFID, and has no impact on picker productivity.

“The need for traceability within the produce industry is vital. If a recall occurs, the priority should be to minimize the exposure for growers, limiting it the impacted growers and not an entire industry,” said Mike Villaneva, program manager production food safety and security, Western Institute for Food Safety & Security.

“It is important to the produce industry to rapidly pinpoint where the product originated from,” said Mark Murai, president of the California Strawberry Commission, and long-time strawberry grower.

“With the recent contamination and recalls of fresh produce, traceability has become a priority for both growers and consumers,” said Mike Cate, president of Corporate Express Document & Print Management. “Traceability today really does not go down to the unit-level. Handwritten numbers on produce do not necessarily have unit-traceability. Instead of taking everything off the shelves, unit-level traceability takes off only what is necessary.”

Cate added, “Traceability technology accelerates recalls, enables swifter pinpointing of problems, and insulates innocent growers. Backed by Corporate Express’ powerhouse sales and distribution system, and our variable data printing and label expertise, HarvestMark will enable consumers to ensure their food is safe in the case of a recall.”

“HarvestMark provides traceability for field-packed fresh produce,” said Elliott Grant, president and CEO of YottaMark. “The solution is fast, cost-effective, and crucially has no impact on picker productivity. It provides instant traceability that is simple and intuitive for consumers to use. Importantly, growers can use the real-time intelligence generated by our system to obtain valuable marketing, quality, and consumer behavior information.”

HarvestMark enhances food safety programs, provides consumers real-time information, and offers brand owners a way to gather valuable data – all in a cost-effective and low-impact manner.