Item-level Radio-Frequency IDentification for the traceability of food products: Application on a dairy product

• Design and implementation of a RFID system for single cheese wheel traceability.
• Testing of LF, HF and UHF technologies.
• Transponders were directly applied to cheese, comparing different methods.
• HF system can be adopted at all different steps of cheese production process.
• UHF technology is reliable only after 60 days ripening.

In the food industry, radio-frequency identification systems could be exploited for traceability, logistics as well as for anti-counterfeit purposes. In this paper, a complete item-level radio-frequency (RF) traceability system is presented for a high-value, pressed, long-ripened cheese. The main contribution of this paper consists in experimenting with different techniques for fixing tags to the cheese and solutions for automatic identification adapted to handling procedures as implemented in a dairy factory. All item movements are thus automatically recorded during the production, handling in the maturing room and warehouse, delivery, packing and selling phases.Fixed and mobile RF devices operating at low, high and ultra-high frequency bands were considered for both static and dynamic identification of single/multiple cheese wheels. Factors such as tag type and shape, required power, antennas polarization and orientation, fixing method and ripening duration were considered in order to verify their effect on reading performance and system reliability.

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