Field-packing into cardboard cartons is the current method for the handling and later transport of all leafy vegetables, including iceberg lettuce. The University of Arizona’s Yuma County Cooperative Extension is employing integrated RFID and GPS technologies to georeference field cartons, and to wirelessly transmit grower and harvest protocols via a site-specific, field-level tracking system. The system provides the seamless traceability of produce from the retail shelf back to precise field locations. In this session, learn the latest information about lettuce harvesting, highlighted by a system capable of tracing carton-level packed iceberg lettuce to an exact field location using RFID and GPS technologies. In the event that an issue involving field-level food safety arises, the ability to trace contaminant back to a specific field location is critical to the rapid and effective understanding, management and control of the event.
Speaker:
Dr. Kurt Nolte, Area Extension Agent, Yuma County Cooperative Extension, University of Arizona