Using QR codes to check food safety in store

Ever wonder how where your Dairy Farmers milk really comes from? In Japan, QR codes affixed to produce allow the curious shopper to check everything from a fruit or vegetable’s farm of origin to the soil composition it was grown in. Thanks to NGT and psfk for this post.

Homegrown Evolution points us to an interesting adaptation of QR bar codes in Japan. Bar codes are being affixed to produce that give a detailed history of the item’s origin. When scanned with a QR enabled cell phone, the code will tell the story of the fruits and veggies - where they came from, and how they were grown.

Wireless Watch Japan reports:

“Prefectural authorities and the JA Ibaraki Prefecture Central Union of Agricultural Cooperative cooperating with other farming and agricultural associations are adding QR code labels right at the point of origin. In the supermarket, consumers use camera equipped cell phones to scan the QR code on the label. The code links to a mobile website detailing origin, soil composition, organic fertilizer content percentage (as opposed to chemical), use of pesticides and herbicides and even the name of the farm it was grown on. Consumers can also access the same information over the Ibaraki Agricultural Produce Net website by inputting a numbered code on each label.”