INTELLIGENT PACKAGING- PART -VII
The
RFID tag is an advanced form of data carrier for automatic product
identification and traceability. RFID technology does not fall into either
sensor or indicator classification but rather represents a separate electronic information
based form of intelligent packaging. RFID is one of the many automatic
identification technologies a group which includes barcodes and offers a number
of potential benefits to the food production, distribution and retail chain
These include traceability, inventory management, labour saving costs, security
and promotion of quality and safety (Mousavi, Sarhavi, Lenk, & Fawcett,
2002). Prevention of product recalls is also
considered an important role of RFID technology (Kumar & Budin, 2006). An
RFID tag contains a tiny transponder and antenna that have a unique number or
alpha numerical sequence; the tag responds to signals received from a reader’s
antenna and transmits its number back to the reader. While the tags are
relatively simple, much better inventory information than barcode RFID tags
have the advantage over barcoding in that tags can be embedded within a
container or package without adversely affecting the data. RFID tags also
provide a non-contact, non-line-of-sight ability to gather real-time data and
can penetrate non-metallic materials including bio-matter (Mennecke &
Townsend, 2005). RFID tags can hold simple information (such as identification
numbers) for tracking or can carry more complex information (with storage
capacity at present up to about 1 MB) such as temperature and relative humidity
data, nutritional information, cooking instructions, etc. Read-only and
read/write tags are also available
Tags
can be classified according to two types: active tags function with battery
power, broadcast a signal to the RFID reader and operate at a distance of up to
approximately 50 m. Passive tags have a shorter reading range (up to
approximately 5 m) and are powered by the energy supplied by the reader (giving
them essentially unlimited life).
In
a typical RFID a reader (or interrogator) emits radio waves to capture data
from a RFID tag, and the data are then passed onto a host computer (which may
be connected to a local network or to the Internet) for analysis and decision
making.
Compared
with the barcode, the RFID tag has several unique characteristics. Line of
sight is usually not required: That is, the RFID tag does not need to be
oriented toward the reader for data transfer to occur because radio waves
travel through a wide array of nonmetallic materials.
A significantly larger data storage capacity
is available (up to 1MB for high-end RFID tags), which may be used to store
information such as temperature and relative humidity data, nutritional
information, and cooking instructions. Read-write operations are supported by
some RFID tags, which are useful in providing real-time information updates as
the tagged items move through the supply chain. Multiple RFID tags may be read
simultaneously at a rapid rate. The RFID tag
is generally not considered as a replacement for the barcode A RFID tag may also be integrated with a
time-temperature indicator or a biosensor to carry time-temperature history and
microbiological data
·
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· International
published Patent WO 2006/032025 A1, J. R. Williams, K. E. Myers, M. M. Owens,
and M. A. Bonne (to Food Quality Sensor International, Inc.).
· R.
Want, ‘‘Enabling Ubiquitous Sensing with RFID,’’ Computer 37, 84–86 (2004).
· S.
Nambi, S. Nyalamadugu, S. M.Wentworth, and B. A. Chin, ‘‘Radio Frequency
Identification Sensors,’’ 7th World Multiconference on Systemics, Cybernetics
and Informatics, Dubna, Russia, July 30–August 2, 2003.
· SUMMERS,
L., 1992: Intelligent packaging for quality. So_ Drinks Management
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E. T. and HAN, J. H., 2003: Intelligent packaging. In: Heldman, D. R.
and Moraru, C. I. (ed.). Encyclopaedia of Agricultural, Food and
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HAN, J. H., HO, C. H. L. and RODRIGUE,
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To
be continued
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