RFID status monitoring and traceability system: escorting food safety

In order to ensure "safety on the tip of the tongue," China has vigorously promoted the establishment of a long-term mechanism for closed-loop quality and safety supervision and traceability of the entire chain, from pig breeding, transportation, and slaughter to pig product marketing and food production and operation. As an important link in the process of pigs from slaughter to market, slaughtering plays a key role in the entire traceability management process. However, due to problems such as complex environment, multiple processes, long processes, and inconvenient data collection at the slaughterhouse production site, it has long been the weakest link in the meat product traceability management chain.

The RFID status monitoring and traceability system can effectively overcome the problems existing in traditional slaughtering link traceability management, realize real-time collection of status monitoring data in slaughtering production, improve the reliability and accuracy of status monitoring data, and can well connect the entire traceability chain to protect the safety of meat products. So, how does the RFID status monitoring and traceability system empower slaughtering and processing enterprises?

Technology empowerment

If we want to realize the traceability and traceability of all aspects of the entire process of meat products from "breeding - raising - slaughtering - processing - freezing - distribution - retail - table", we must ensure that every link in the entire chain, especially the slaughtering and processing links, is traceable. The accuracy of status information, otherwise, the direct and indirect consequences caused by even 1 to 2% inaccuracy will be very serious. For this reason, people put electronic ear tags on pigs with built-in smart chips that Store all status monitoring data during the pig breeding process. It is equivalent to a pig's ID Card. It is a unique QR code for each pig. It will be fixed on the piglet's ear as soon as it is born. It will record the pig's birthplace, vaccination, quarantine, transportation, etc. The status monitoring information can be transferred to the database until the pigs are slaughtered and sold. Through the electronic ear tags worn by pigs, the breeding status monitoring information can be traced throughout the entire process, effectively preventing sick and dead pigs from flowing into the market.

However, in the entire slaughtering and processing process from pre-inspection, slaughtering, segmentation, packaging, refrigeration to cold chain transportation, due to the position of the electronic ear tag on the pig's ear, it is impossible to use electronic ear tags to collect status monitoring during the slaughtering and processing process. data. And since each piece of pork is hung on the same hook throughout the processing process, it makes sense to install RFID tags on the hooks.

The RFID status monitoring and traceability system binds RFID tags to each metal hook for hanging pork, and it is different from LF tags. The hooks do not have to be slotted, and they are also resistant to physical impact, moisture, water, and water. It is high temperature, anti-freeze, and reusable, and only needs to correctly associate the corresponding tag on the hook with the status monitoring data of the electronic ear tag to ensure continuous and correct identification of pork during the slaughtering process. At the same time, multiple read-write heads with IP69K protection levels are installed next to the pig slaughtering line. The RFID status monitoring and traceability system can obtain the status monitoring information of each piece of pork through the read-write heads.

The status monitoring data information of each production link of slaughtering and processing can be interacted with the management system in real time only through the RFID electronic tag in the RFID status monitoring and traceability system. , there is no need to perform any "paper" operations. In this way, on the premise of ensuring complete collection of condition monitoring information, it not only achieves paperless operations in the production process, but also improves the level of automated control and management of the entire process, ensuring important information The accuracy of intelligent collection ensures the safety of meat products. Once a problem is discovered during the process, the relevant status monitoring information will be recorded in the RFID tag linked to the RFID status monitoring and traceability system; the piece of pork will also be transferred to a dedicated storage area to prevent further processing.

Application advantages of RFID

Practice has proven that both LF and UHF RFID solutions are not suitable in harsh slaughtering and processing processes. The frequency of LF RFID is very close to the frequency of the field motor, so reliable RFID operation is subject to considerable interference. In addition, the reading and writing distance of LF RFID is not enough. The distance between the RFID read-write head and the tag is only about 30mm, which cannot meet the requirements of every Library-borrowing-machine-touch-query-intelligent-terminal-all-in-one-machine.html target='_blank'>workstation. UHF RFID products are also not suitable because their reading and writing distance is too large, and the reading and writing heads will read multiple tags at the same time. This problem is particularly obvious in the case of high-speed reading. The actual maximum speed of the slaughtering production line is 600 heads/hour, so it is impossible to determine which hook is passing through the workstation.

The RFID tag in the RFID condition monitoring and traceability system can be embedded in the metal of the pork hook, thus providing reliable protection and preventing damage for condition monitoring of the entire slaughter process. Furthermore, the longer read range allows the RFID read/write head to be installed next to the conveyor chain in a position that can be mechanically protected. The protection level of the read-write head can reach IP69K, and the protection level of the label can reach IP68. Therefore, they are moisture and water resistant and are also suitable for high-pressure cleaning.

In addition, the RFID status monitoring and traceability system has the ability to read and write 8 bytes of data during operation. The integrator's project manager was also impressed by the simplicity and flexibility of the RFID condition monitoring and traceability systems, which can be easily parameterized without the use of any functional modules. In addition to connecting 8 read-write heads, other analog and digital signals can also be connected to the BL67 gateway as an RFID interface. If additional control points are required, RFID Modules and standard I/O modules can be added. This minimizes the cost per node. RFID read-write heads with extended sensing distance can protect tags and read-write heads from mechanical damage. RFID tags can store 146 bytes of data. Therefore, all necessary status monitoring information can be saved in tags, which improves the security of the database in the event of an error. RFID condition monitoring and traceability systems can also fully detect tags so that production is not slowed down by the use of RFID.