Tracing and Tracking Products

In this section, we will discuss a challenge associated with tracing food supply. As food moves through the supply chain, there is potential for 

Of course a large fraction of beef that is ultimately consumed does not go through retail outlets but rather is delivered to consumers via the restaurant and food service industries. Thus, given the scale of US food production, automated systems will be required to identify the source of the contamination, take effective and remedial measures to identify and isolate the contaminated food, and inform the public of the possible risks. One example of such a system is available to consumers of Japanese Wagyu beef who can key in the product code associated with a unit sold and obtain all information regarding the animal, its feed and treatment, and its pedigree ([17]). 

But if sensors were used all along the life of the animal, to track position and health indicators (e.g., body temperature, heart rate, respiration rate) of individual animals, the data from a herd of beef cattle could be used to gauge herd health and disease spread. In addition, knowledge of disease incubation periods coupled with animal health information can provide useful information on the potential for hazardous infection in animals that have already been harvested for food production. 

Another detail is that there are many participants in the supply chain from the farm to the consumer. At the farm level, genetics and feed are combined to produce livestock products. Beyond the farm, the livestock product is transported, processed, and packaged for retail distribution, typically passing through the hands of several agents who are receiving nearly identical inputs from a large number of sources. In addition. 

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