Application of RFID in agri-food sector

Recent Advance of Intelligent Packaging Aided by Artificial Intelligence for Monitoring Food Freshness

Food safety is a pressing concern for human society, as it directly impacts people's lives, while food freshness serves as one of the most crucial indicators in ensuring food safety. There exist diverse techniques for monitoring food freshness, among which intelligent packaging based on artificial intelligence technology boasts the advantages of low cost, high efficiency, fast speed and wide applicability; however, it is currently underutilized. By analyzing the current research status of intelligent packaging both domestically and internationally, this paper provides a clear classification of intelligent packaging technology. Additionally, it outlines the advantages and disadvantages of using intelligent packaging technology for food freshness detection methods, while summarizing the latest research progress in applying artificial intelligence-based technologies to food freshness detection through intelligent packaging. Finally, the author points out the limitations of the current research, and anticipates future developments in artificial intelligence technology for assisting freshness detection in intelligent packaging. This will provide valuable insights for the future development of intelligent packaging in the field of food freshness detection.

Overview of Food Preservation and Traceability Technology in the Smart Cold Chain System

According to estimates by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), about a third of all food produced for human consumption in the world is lost or wasted-approximately 1.3 billion tons. Among this, the amount lost during the storage stage is about 15-20% for vegetables and 10-15% for fruits. It is 5-10% for vegetables and fruits during the distribution stage, resulting in a large amount of resource waste and economic losses. At the same time, the global population affected by hunger has reached 828 million, exceeding one-tenth of the total global population. The improvement of the cold chain system will effectively reduce the amount of waste and loss of food during the storage and transportation stages. Firstly, this paper summarizes the concept and development status of traditional preservation technology; environmental parameter sensor components related to fruit and vegetable spoilage in the intelligent cold chain system; the data transmission and processing technology of the intelligent cold chain system, including wireless network communication technology (WI-FI) and cellular mobile communication; short-range communication technology, and the low-power, wide-area network (LPWAN). The smart cold chain system is regulated and optimized through the Internet of Things, blockchain, and digital twin technology to achieve the sustainable development of smart agriculture. The deep integration of artificial intelligence and traditional preservation technology provides new ideas and solutions for the problem of food waste in the world. However, the lack of general standards and the high cost of the intelligent cold chain system are obstacles to the development of the intelligent cold chain system. Governments and researchers at all levels should strive to highly integrate cold chain systems with artificial intelligence technology, establish relevant regulations and standards for cold chain technology, and actively promote development toward intelligence, standardization, and technology.

Exploring the relationship between digitalization, resilient agri-food supply chain management practices and firm performance

Purpose

This study aims to explore the mediating role of digital technologies-based supply chain integrating (SCI) strategies on the agri-supply chain performance (SCP) and firm performance (FP). This research has introduced recently emerged digital technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT). Further, based on theoretical support and an extensive literature review, this research has proposed some hypotheses, which have been quantitatively validated for their significance.

Design/methodology/approach

A conceptual model was formulated based on an extensive literature review. Data for this research were gathered from a survey completed by 119 respondents from different departments of agri-firms. Further, partial least square (PLS)-based structured equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the proposed hypothetical model.

Findings

The results confirm that IoT-based digital technologies and supply chain processes (organization integration [OI], information sharing and customer integration [CI]) have a significant positive correlation. Furthermore, supply chain practices are positively associated with SCP. Finally, it has been found that FP is positively impacted by SCP.

Research limitations/implications

This research is used to analyse the mediating impacts of digital supply chain processes as a linking strategy for SCP and FP. For practical purposes, this research provides investment decisions for implementing digital technologies in SC strategies. The findings have proposed implications for managers and practitioners in agri-firms based on existing theories: contingency theory (CT) and relational view theory. Also, this study suggests the deployment of smarter electronically based tags and readers, which improve the data analytics capabilities based on auto-captured data. Thus, the availability of quality information improves the data-driven decisional capabilities of managers at company level.

Originality/value

This is a unique and original study exploring the relationship between digitalization, resilient agri-food supply chain (AFSC) management practices and firm performance. This research may be extended to other industries in view of the results from SCP and impact of digitalization.

Cold chain relevance in the food safety of perishable products

The food cold chain is an effective tool that allows food markets to maintain food quality and reduce losses. Poor logistics may result in foodborne disease outbreaks and greenhouse gas emissions caused by organic matter decay. The ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 makes it necessary to study the chances of SARS-CoV-2 transmissions in food products. This study reviews cold chain logistics as a handy tool for avoiding food safety risks, including COVID-19. The cold chain of perishables and its proper management make it possible to maintain quality and safety at any stage of the food supply chain. The technology covers each link of the food chain to prevent microbial spoilage caused by temperature fluctuations and the contamination with SARS-CoV-2 associated with perishable foods. Given the lack of knowledge in this field in Latin America, the region needs new research to determine the impact of the cold chain on perishable foodstuffs. The perishable cold chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and the national and international markets require new traceability protocols to minimize the effect of COVID-19.

Sustainable food cold chain logistics: From microenvironmental monitoring to global impact

Food cold chain logistics (FCCL) is a systematic engineering process involving the use of a low-temperature environment to maintain the quality and safety of perishable food and reduce food loss and waste (FLW). From a mechanism perspective, FCCL must balance resource costs for a required level of food quality and safety with the costs of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In the context of global warming, the sustainability trade-off between FLW and environmental impact has recently become an important topic in research on efficient, green FCCL. This is mainly reflected in technological innovation, management optimization, and policy responses. With a focus on three levels (micro, meso, macro), this review analyzes current research areas and the gaps and challenges of FCCL in microenvironmental monitoring, life cycle assessment (LCA), and global impact. Future trends pertaining to FCCL in technology, management, and industry and sustainable development are also summarized. Future trends involving sustainable FCCL must be intelligent, systematic, and low carbon. Industry empowerment through next-generation information technologies (e.g., IoT, AI, big data, blockchain) will promote the multidimensional perception, real-time information transmission, and sustainable control of microenvironmental monitoring, as well as support LCA management transformation from fragmentation to system integration. From a macro level, due to the serious global loss of perishable food, the FCCL scale demand is growing greatly, causing a huge environmental burden. Global cooperation, low-carbon consensus, and appropriate policies will become the basis for promoting sustainable FCCL development.

A Monitoring Framework with Integrated Sensing Technologies for Enhanced Food Safety and Traceability

A novel and low-cost framework for food traceability, composed by commercial and proprietary sensing devices, for the remote monitoring of air, water, soil parameters and herbicide contamination during the farming process, has been developed and verified in real crop environments. It offers an integrated approach to food traceability with embedded systems supervision, approaching the problem to testify the quality of the food product. Moreover, it fills the gap of missing low-cost systems for monitoring cropping environments and pesticides contamination, satisfying the wide interest of regulatory agencies and final customers for a sustainable farming. The novelty of the proposed monitoring framework lies in the realization and the adoption of a fully automated prototype for in situ glyphosate detection. This device consists of a custom-made and automated fluidic system which, leveraging on the Molecularly Imprinted Polymer (MIP) sensing technology, permits to detect unwanted glyphosate contamination. The custom electronic mainboard, called ElectroSense, exhibits both the potentiostatic read-out of the sensor and the fluidic control to accomplish continuous unattended measurements. The complementary monitored parameters from commercial sensing devices are: temperature, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure, volumetric water content, electrical conductivity of the soil, pH of the irrigation water, total Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and equivalent CO2. The framework has been validated during the olive farming activity in an Italian company, proving its efficacy for food traceability. Finally, the system has been adopted in a different crop field where pesticides treatments are practiced. This has been done in order to prove its capability to perform first level detection of pesticide treatments. Good correlation results between chemical sensors signals and pesticides treatments are highlighted.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in health care: where are we? A scoping review

Purpose

(RFID) is a technology that uses radio waves for data collection and transfer, so data is captured efficiently, automatically and in real time without human intervention. This technology, alone or in addition to other technologies has been considered as a possible solution to reduce problems that endanger public health or to improve its management. This scoping review aims to provide readers with an up-to-date picture of the use of this technology in health care settings.

Methods

This scoping review examines the state of RFID technology in the healthcare area for the period 2017-2022, specifically addressing RFID versatility and investigating how this technology can contribute to radically change the management of public health. The guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) have been followed. Literature reviews or surveys were excluded. Only articles describing technologies implemented on a real environment or on prototypes were included.

Results

The search returned 366 results. After screening, based on title and abstract, 58 articles were considered suitable for this work. 11 articles were reviewed because they met the qualifying requirements. The study of the selected articles highlighted six matters that can be profitably impacted by this technology

Conclusion

The selected papers show that this technology can improve patient safety by reducing medical errors, that can occur within operating rooms. It can also be the solution to overcome the problem of the black market in counterfeiting drugs, or as a prevention tool. Further research is needed, especially on data management, security, and privacy, given the sensitive nature of medical information.

Graphical Abstract

Applications of IoT for achieving sustainability in agricultural sector: A comprehensive review

This research aims to achieve a holistic understanding of the current IoT scenario by conducting a comparative analysis of the prevailing literature regarding IoT applications in the agricultural domain. Also, it proposes a framework for IoT adoption in the case sector. A systematic literature review was conducted with a methodology that focused on scientific articles authored in the English language that were published in peer-reviewed journals in the last five years. Initially, 179 research papers were extracted from the SCOPUS database and finally, 82 relevant articles were considered for the study which were classified into various categories and studied thoroughly. Based on a comprehensive survey of the selected articles four research questions were identified and successfully addressed. The results highlighted that research efforts pertaining to IoT applications of agriculture have matured from their initial conceptual stage and now reached the implementation phase. Also, it was observed that Machine Learning based algorithms were utilized extensively in recent research studies. For the first time, an exhaustive study has been conducted holistically to comprehend the recent advances in the field of IoT applications for the agricultural sector.

Survey: Vulnerability Analysis of Low-Cost ECC-Based RFID Protocols against Wireless and Side-Channel Attacks

The radio frequency identification (RFID) system is one of the most important technologies of the Internet of Things (IoT) that tracks single or multiple objects. This technology is extensively used and attracts the attention of many researchers in various fields, including healthcare, supply chains, logistics, asset tracking, and so on. To reach the required security and confidentiality requirements for data transfer, elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) is a powerful solution, which ensures a tag/reader mutual authentication and guarantees data integrity. In this paper, we first review the most relevant ECC-based RFID authentication protocols, focusing on their security analysis and operational performances. We compare the various lightweight ECC primitive implementations designed for RFID applications in terms of occupied area and power consumption. Then, we highlight the security threats that can be encountered considering both network attacks and side-channel attacks and analyze the security effectiveness of RFID authentication protocols against such types of attacks. For this purpose, we classify the different threats that can target an ECC-based RFID system. After that, we present the most promising ECC-based protocols released during 2014–2021 by underlining their advantages and disadvantages. Finally, we perform a comparative study between the different protocols mentioned regarding network and side-channel attacks, as well as their implementation costs to find the optimal one to use in future works.

Parametric review of food supply chain performance implications under different aspects

Purpose

Presented work gives comparative review of food supply chain (FSC) under various notions related to its conceptualisation, operationality and technological advancements in lieu with Industry 4.0 revolution. In Indian scenario, the impression of FSC seems in a scattered way that cannot be directly useful for an organisation, to overcome this scattering, a framework has been developed to consolidate the previous research works and exploration of new trends in food supply chain management (FSCM) in context to Indian scenario.

Design/methodology/approach

This article encapsulates the essence of various research articles and reports retrieved from databases of Emerald and Elsevier's Science direct, clustering the various notions related to FSC in Indian context. To visualise the one-sight view of related works, a pictorial representations have also been appended.

Findings

This article explains the general aspect of FSC and its linkage in context to Indian system. Presented work outlays both empirical and theoretical approaches trending from last 15 years. As research count in context to Indian FSC is lacking, so this work will be a road map for expedition in direction of FSCM, in era of research.

Practical implications

Findings and suggestion in this work can expanded in various industries related to food, helping to turn their fortune and enrichment of Indian FSC.

Social implications

Food is binding word for all the commodities, and its effective supply chain management is a big boon for economy of country along with large employment generation for people directly/indirectly associated with this industry. This article covers a generalise approach from ground level framework to a level of advancement which fulfil technological aspects, future needs and upcoming trends in lieu to need of developing nation.

Originality/value

As limited research is done in Indian FSCM, this work to bridge this gap along with a well-defined framework which going to explore FSC. This work is going to be facilitation for researchers of this area as no major review for Indian context has not been published.

Developing anti-counterfeiting measures: The role of smart packaging

Counterfeiting of food and beverage products is rife and premium brands are often targeted by fraudsters. Such is the case with Scotch whisky, a global, reputable brand revered for its heritage and tradition. Using Scotch whisky as a case study, the aim of this paper is to review existing literature and industry information to determine the market and personal consequences of counterfeiting activities and consider the packaging related anti-counterfeiting measures that can be employed within a wider anti-counterfeiting strategy. A typology of counterfeiting activities is developed including: tear-down counterfeiting, product overruns, malicious activities and document counterfeiting. Anti-counterfeiting measures are used to deter, detect and control counterfeiting activities and different packaging related approaches include the use of smart covert and overt technology. Most smart packaging-related anti-counterfeit technologies are stand-alone systems and this presents a vulnerability. An integrated anti-counterfeiting measures strategy, employed by business, the supply chain and the government is required to reduce the risk of the sale of counterfeit food and beverage products.

Innovative Blockchain-Based Approach for Sustainable and Credible Environment in Food Trade: A Case Study in Shandong Province, China

Agri-food trade has a profound impact on social stability and sustainable economic development. However, there are several technological problems in current agricultural product transactions. For example, it is almost impossible to improve the efficiency of transactions and maintain market stability. This paper designs a novel Food Trading System with COnsortium blockchaiN (FTSCON) to eliminate information asymmetry in the food trade, in order to establish a sustainable and credible trading environment, the system uses consortium blockchain technology to meet the challenge of different authentications and permissions for different roles in food trade. Meanwhile, we have used the online double auction mechanism to eliminate competition. We also have designed a improved Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (iPBFT) algorithm to improve efficiency. In addition, a case study based on a series of data from Shandong Province, China indicate that the FTSCON can achieve profit improvement of merchants. Therefore, the proposed system proved to have high commercial value.

Biosensors for Sustainable Food Engineering: Challenges and Perspectives

Current food production faces tremendous challenges from growing human population, maintaining clean resources and food qualities, and protecting climate and environment. Food sustainability is mostly a cooperative effort resulting in technology development supported by both governments and enterprises. Multiple attempts have been promoted in tackling challenges and enhancing drivers in food production. Biosensors and biosensing technologies with their applications, are being widely applied to tackling top challenges in food production and its sustainability. Consequently, a growing demand in biosensing technologies exists in food sustainability. Microfluidics represents a technological system integrating multiple technologies. Nanomaterials, with its technology in biosensing, is thought to be the most promising tool in dealing with health, energy, and environmental issues closely related to world populations. The demand of point of care (POC) technologies in this area focus on rapid, simple, accurate, portable, and low-cost analytical instruments. This review provides current viewpoints from the literature on biosensing in food production, food processing, safety and security, food packaging and supply chain, food waste processing, food quality assurance, and food engineering. The current understanding of progress, solution, and future challenges, as well as the commercialization of biosensors are summarized.

Redução de perdas nas cadeias de frutas e hortaliças pela análise da vida útil dinâmica

Resumo A estimativa do crescimento populacional mundial de nove bilhões de pessoas, em 2050, estabelece um grande desafio para os próximos anos, considerando os problemas atuais de insegurança alimentar e o fornecimento de alimentos saudáveis, num mundo, predominantemente, de pessoas vivendo em regiões urbanas. A importância da dieta na saúde é indiscutível, sendo que, a cada dia que passa, o consumidor está mais consciente de que a saúde está diretamente relacionada a uma dieta balanceada e segura. As tecnologias aplicadas na pós-colheita de frutas e hortaliças que continuam com seu metabolismo ativo buscam manter a qualidade através dos parâmetros aparência, textura, sabor, valor nutritivo e segurança alimentar, bem como reduzir perdas qualitativas e quantitativas entre a colheita e o consumo. A combinação de tecnologias, como resfriamento rápido, refrigeração e utilização de embalagens com atmosferas modificadas ativas e passivas, aplicadas na pós-colheita, precisa estar aliada a uma adequada gestão de temperatura para cada produto, em toda a cadeia de distribuição. Assim, conforme o histórico de temperatura desde a colheita até os locais de vendas no varejo, a estimativa da vida útil torna-se uma variável altamente dinâmica. Tecnologias de RFID (Radio Frequency Identification - Identificação por Rádio Frequência) integradas a sensores podem revolucionar o transporte e o manuseio de produtos perecíveis, por meio de leituras precisas e contínuas das condições do ambiente de conservação durante a logística, interpretadas por modelos matemáticos que estimam a vida útil restante. Esta revisão descreve como a tecnologia, por meio de chips RFID integrados a sensores e associados ao uso de modelamentos matemáticos, pode ser incorporada na gestão de Centros de Distribuição, alterando a ênfase, a partir do clássico FIFO (First In, First Out - Primeiro a Entrar, Primeiro a Sair), para uma estratégia de FEFO (First Expired, First Out - Primeiro Expirado, Primeiro a Sair). Desta maneira, com o melhor conhecimento da vida útil dos produtos, espera-se menor perda, além de melhor conservação dos produtos.

Monitoramento da cadeia do frio: novas tecnologias e recentes avanços

Resumo A economia, atualmente, é impulsionada pela alta competitividade, exigindo que os setores de produção e logística sejam ágeis, flexíveis e com capacidade de ação para a solução de dificuldades. A logística é de extrema importância para as operações das cadeias de alimentos perecíveis, como carnes, peixes, lácteos, frutas e produtos hortícolas, assim como para determinados produtos da indústria farmacêutica, como vacinas, biomedicamentos e hemoderivados, que necessitam do uso da cadeia do frio devido à sua perecibilidade. A temperatura é o fator mais importante para a conservação da qualidade e manutenção da vida útil destes produtos, sendo a refrigeração um dos métodos mais amplamente utilizados para retardar o desenvolvimento de vários fatores que conduzem à sua deterioração. Dentre os desafios para a melhoria de incertezas da cadeia do frio, há a mitigação de riscos de ruptura da mesma. Sabe-se que há variações inevitáveis das condições de conservação dos produtos durante as etapas da cadeia de frio, as quais causam alteração da vida útil de alimentos perecíveis. Seja no transporte ou nas câmaras frias de armazenagem, há flutuação de temperatura em torno da condição ideal, sendo que ainda hoje, na maioria dos sistemas, o monitoramento da temperatura é realizado por pouquíssimos sensores. Embora poucas tecnologias de monitoração de temperatura sejam utilizadas para inibir os riscos de perda de qualidade e obter a segurança alimentar, estas são utilizadas de forma independente, nos diferentes elos da cadeia logística do frio. Esses desafios têm impulsionado esforços de grupos de pesquisas de países desenvolvidos para o aperfeiçoamento de aplicações de rede de sensores sem fio (RSSF) e de identificação por radiofrequência (RFID), com base em dispositivos sensores. Este trabalho aborda aspectos importantes da aplicação destas novas tecnologias, que são capazes de detectar a condição destes produtos perecíveis em tempo real, durante as operações logísticas, possibilitando evitar a perda, melhorar a qualidade dos produtos perecíveis e reduzir os custos.

Processing- and product-related causes for food waste and implications for the food supply chain

Reducing food waste is one of the prominent goals in the current research, which has also been set by the United Nations to achieve a more sustainable world by 2030. Given that previous studies mainly examined causes for food waste generation related to consumers, e.g., expectations regarding quality or uncertainties about edibility, this review aims at providing an overview on losses in the food industry, as well as on natural mechanisms by which impeccable food items are converted into an undesired state. For this, scientific literature was reviewed based on a keyword search, and information not covered was gathered by conducting expert interviews with representatives from 13 German food processing companies. From the available literature, three main areas of food waste generation were identified and discussed: product deterioration and spoilage during logistical operations, by-products from food processing, and consumer perception of quality and safety. In addition, expert interviews revealed causes for food waste in the processing sector, which were categorised as follows: losses resulting from processing operations and quality assurance, and products not fulfilling quality demands from trade. The interviewees explained a number of strategies to minimise food losses, starting with alternative tradeways for second choice items, and ending with emergency power supplies to compensate for power blackouts. It became clear that the concepts are not universally applicable for each company, but the overview provided in the present study may support researchers in finding appropriate solutions for individual cases.