RFID Conference Offers Food Traceability Workshop

The complexity of the perishables supply chain requires new tools and technologies for optimization and authentication of products across all supply chain trading partners.
 
This special interest symposium is designed for agriculture, produce and meat manufacturers, distributors and retailers. By attending, all parties in the produce supply chain will gain specific information about RFID tag and reader systems, data management challenges and professional services work in tandem to help companies achieve compliance and more.

The workshop, chaired by Carla Reed, Marsh, takes place Sept. 8, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the RFID World conference in Las Vegas. Registration costs $499 per person before May 31, 2008; $599 per person June 1- July 31, 2008; and $699 per person Aug. 1 to Sept. 5, 2008.

Sessions at the day-long workshop include:

Achieving End-to-End Food Safety — The key for a successful implementation for any company is to do a thorough assessment of how RFID can positively impact your business processes. If food safety is the objective, the implementation plan utilizing RFID and other solutions follows, and is outlined in this overview presentation.

Case Study: State of Hawaii Produce Traceability — In this case study presentation, the key players in the State of Hawaii’s produce traceability program discuss and dissect the implementation process and key take-aways for each organization, including the State, from this innovative supply chain traceability project.

Opportunities and Challenges Using RFID in the Livestock Industry — This presentation will focus on the practical uses of RFID in current livestock herd management, and use within the development of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS).

As the livestock industry has adopted the use of low frequency RFID technology many benefits have been obtained. However the current RFID technology also has shown several weaknesses mainly due to the unique nature and needs of modern livestock management. The need for traceability will increase in the coming years. For example age and source verification will be required to maintain and open new markets for U.S. beef. On the domestic front the implementation of country of origin labeling for meat and poultry to meet consumer demand will further push the need for traceability. Cost effective and practical applications of RFID technology will need to be developed to meet future needs. Attendees will learn more about current technology capabilities, practical uses, unique challenges, future needs, and the national animal identification system.

Temperature Monitoring Throughout the Supply Chain — RFID tagging and software assists cold chain managers in getting up-to-date information about what, where and when. What sensors can add is “how is this?”. This session describes what it takes to add a new dimension – the assessment of how well the integrity of a product has been maintained – to traditional license-plate RFID systems. Hardware requirements (tag, readers, labels), software systems needed for the traditionally harsh environment of the cold chain and the value proposition will be covered.

Strategies to Integrate the Paper Trail with the Product Trail — Understand how RFID and automatic ID technologies can be effectively used to integrate product information with the product trail itself. Attendees will explore: document management, visibility to inventory, supply chain partner auditing, purchase order management processes and more.

Using Thin Printed Batteries for Temperature Monitoring in Food/Beverage/Pharma Applications — The availability of thin, flexible printed carbon-zinc batteries represents a relatively new technology that can prove especially valuable to the RFID-enabled supply chain and interactive “smart card” markets. In this presentation, Attendees will understand the underlying technology behind thin, flexible, environmentally friendly batteries, as well as their capabilities in diverse applications.

From Food Safety to Demand Planning, Leveraging RFID Enabled Visibility Across the Supply Chain — Presentation includes use cases and methodologies to integrate protection-oriented things (Food Safety, Pharma Pedigree and Recall) to the operational (Demand Planning, Proof of Delivery, Re-routing).

Roundtable: Lessons Learned from Early Cold Chain Projects — This roundtable provides real-world experience and feedback about early RFID pilots and implementations in the perishables supply chain. Learn from the early adopters, avoid common errors and use their experience to manage your organizations expectations 

For a full schedule or to register, visit http://www.cmp-egevents.com/web/rfid/foodtraceability