Temperature sensitive barcodes which can be scanned by a smart phone will be used by food proceeding companies to enable temperature quality to be monitored along every part of the supply chain.
The new technology named ThermoTrace TTI has been launched by DeltaTRAK at the United Fresh trade show earlier this month. The technology enables barcodes to be scanned by traditional barcode readers or by smartphones using either iPhone or Android software.
When a label is scanned by a device, information about the product can then be obtained about the product’s quality to see if the temperature of the product at any point in the chain has been abused.
The technology improvements allow producers to monitor their goods so that customers receive them in the very best condition. The marketing communications manager at DeltaTRAK is Val Cureton, she spoke in FoodProductionDaily.com, where she said that messages on scanners could be read as “good” or “fresh” if the product has been treated correctly, whereas the message may say “Do not sell” if the product has been taken out of the required temperature range.
The barcode labels work due to a chemical reaction within the label. If the temperature goes too high for example, a chemical is released across the barcode label, which blocks some of the barcode’s bars. The label can be used to thus track the cumulative rise in temperature at which the product may stay out of setpoint limits.