Fresh vegetable deliveries at C1000 supermarkets is ondergoing revolutionary changes. For the first time in Europe, a part of such deliveries is being fully monitored by RFID chips in a Schuitema project known as 'Fresh Link', in which the Wageningen University & Research Centre is a participant. More on the Dutch website...

Schuitema knows where the fresh-cut vegetables are
Management Team 20, 1-12-2006, p. 23

Remote chips enable supermarket chain Schuitema to monitor the whereabouts of its fresh-cut vegetables. This has resulted in fresher products. Article is available in Dutch.

Pioneering results presented at eNederland Congress
www.zibb.nl, 9 Nov.. 2006

Project 'Fresh Link', after having won the RFID innonvation price in June 2005, has progressed well and the first results were presented at the eNederland Congress in Zeist, The Netherlands, on 9 November. On the website of Schuitema, the owner of C1000 supermarkets, a short film shows what the project is about.

In our 'Fresh Link' ( Vers Schakel ) project with Dutch supermarket giant Schuitema, we investigate the logistic turnaround of crates, in order to increase productivity, decrease the number of distribution errors, improve efficiency and the quality of fresh vegetables in shops. See the article in English.

Dutch supermarket plans RFID trial
RFID Journal, 4 Nov. 2005

The RFID dream of Schuitema
Scanner no. 3, 2005

RFID-project Schuitema battles with orange juice and spinach
Bits & Chips, 29/9/2005

In this article, the logistics and IT manager of Schuitema discloses what problems his company faces, and how it has overcome several of these handicaps in its attempt to introduce RFID tags to monitor the supply of fresh-cut vegetables. EC-Pack/Wageningen UR is one of the experts participating in this project. Article is available in Dutch.

Schuitema knows the way
Automatisering Gids, nr. 38, 23 Sep. 2005, p. 5

Schuitema, of the C1000 supermarkets, experimented with the use of RFID-tags on containers last year. It discovered that many technical problems can be solved.  Armed with such knowledge, it is now partnering with several others to find out if logistics profit is to be gained in the area of fresh vegetables. Article is available in Dutch.

Project on packaged fresh-cut vegetables wins Dutch RFID prize
www.nvc.nl) - June 2005

The price was awarded to Schuitema's project, which also involved EC-Pack/Wageningen University & Research Centre, H. Heemskert BV,  Royal PTT Nederland NV, the Central Trade Bureau for Food Products (CBL) and Cap Gemini Nederland NV. More...

Silence before the storm for talking gadgets
Het Financieele Dagblad, 30/9/05

This article in Dutch outlines recent developments around RFID chips which could soon be taking the world by storm.

This book describes key components of traceability systems and how food manufacturers can manage them effectively. Several researchers in our institute have contributed to the book. More...

This article in Dutch outlines several projects presented at the GS1-Congress in The Netherlands on 27 September 2005 which make use of RFID technology. One of these is the project 'Fresh Link' (Vers Schakel) involving readers in containers on trucks, in which Wageningen-UR participates.

Researchers at Wageningen University and Research Centre in The Netherlands are using RFID data to determine how to keep perishables in stock and fresh. More...

During the AIDC Trade Fair 2005, much attention was focussed on fresh logistics and the role of automatic identification of packaging- and transport units. Ir. Frans-Peter Scheer of EC-Pack / Wageningen UR tells us more about shrinkage of fresh products in the logistics chain and what can be done about this. Article is available in Dutch.

Cooperation in fresh logistics important for market position
Vakblad AGF 3 juni 2004, pp. 12-13

To implement fresh logistics successfully, communication concerning product quality is of great importance. This can take place in the form of a consume-before date or, for example, with Radio Frequency IDentification technology, which can transmit information from the fresh chain to enable retailers to avoid spoilage. The results: more possibilities for expanding the fresh product assortment.  Article is available in Dutch.

Around the world with a flower
SCM Magazine, 3 April 2006, pages 60-65

This article in Dutch details how our research team has helped flower exporters such as Greenwings in the international flower market with logistics planning and quality monitoring.

E-faqts detects mistakes in supply chain
Versmanagement, nr. 3, 9 sep. 2005, pp 15-17

This article and the next describes how a system developed by EC-Pack / Wageningen University & Research can be used worldwide by suppliers to track the state of their goods along the delivery chain. Article is in Dutch.

Quality management with e-Faqts
Vakblad Agf, 4 aug. 2005, pp. 12-13

E-faqts can offer better insight into the circumstances in the logistics chain, according to EC-Pack / WUR. E-faqts if an internet application which records and analyses the temperature, humidity and oxygen level of fresh prducts. Companies can then accordingly make the necessary moves. More...

How long does fresh stay fresh?
IT Logistiek, nr. 4, april 2005: pp. 10-13

The longer, the better: this applies to the remaining product life of fresh products at any point in the retail chain. Sensors can help to identify weak spots with relatively unfavourable storage conditions. A computer simulation can subsequently show where investments can best be made to improve the situation. Article is availabe in Dutch.

Measuring quality along the way
Groot Handelsblad, October 2004

Article in Dutch.

Internet logservice for flower supply chains
FlowerTECH 2004, vol. 7, no. 7: pages 11-12

This summer has seen the completion of a project to develop quality tracking & tracing for cut flowers. Sponsored by the Dutch Product Board for Agriculture, available technology was tested and integrated by researchers at EC-Pack/ Agrotechnology & Food Innovations, Wageningen University, into a system to comprehensively analyse the quality chain. More....

See also: E-faqts: logservice for flower supply chains

Taking measures in the flower sector
Resource, UWR, feb. 2004, pp. 10-11)

Flowers from The Netherlands are exported all over the world, but due to high temperatures and humidity along the way, they do not always arrive fresh at their destination. This can shorten the vase-life of the flowers. Using dataloggers, exporter Greenwings and Wageningen agrotechnologists can now chart the weak spots in the flower chain. Article. is available in Dutch.

Sensor in label can 'smell' the freshness of fruit, vegetables, meat and fish

The lover of avocadoes or mangoes often faces obstacles before they can fulfil their tastebuds. Fruits bought are often not ripe enough to be eaten, and the conditions at home at not ideal for ripening. It's no wonder that the buyer is disappointed with his purchases. Not if the packaging can help...  Article is available in Dutch. 

KwaliTenT: Development of a ‘quality-oriented tracking and tracing’ system for food products

Quality-oriented Tracking and Tracing for the market gardener

Radio Frequency IDentification technology (RFID), the successor of the barcode, will play an important role in fresh logistics, according to Dr. Henry Luitjes, EC-Pack director and head of the Department of Packaging, Transport & Logistics of Wageningen University & Research Centre. Article isvailable in Dutch.

A logistics manager reads the life expectancy of a pallet of yoghurt drinks via his palm-top. Fantasy? Hardly. Ask Henri Luitjes. He will offer you the product Datachat. Or the programme Aladin, which can instruct a chain manager on how to deliver an order of peppers in the United States. Article is available in Dutch.

Many factors are involved in developing packagings for perishable products. One is in fact faced with a multidisciplinary field where one has to consider diverse aspects: marketing, product quality, materials, design, technology, environment, legislations and logistics. All of these are further linked to one another. Together, they determine the packaging concept.
The focus of this article is in the relationship among product, packaging, product quality and safety. One aspect is highlighted: the important role played by packaging in marketing a product. In addition, two modern packaging techniques (MAP and EMAP), which have become increasingly common in The Netherlands, are discussed in more detail. Article is available in Dutch.

Part 2:
Packaging intervenes to achieve fresh and tasty products
Kunststof Magazine, June 2002, No. 5: pages 28-31
written by: C.R. Jaeger

Packaging can ensure that a product is kept in a protected environment.  The product's natural respiration can also help create an 'Equilibrium Modified Atmosphere'. Article is available in Dutch.

Part 3:
Intelligent packaging highlights the face of quality
Kunststof Magazine May 2002, No. 4:
written by: C.R. Jaeger

One can obtain accurate information on the quality of a packaged product with the use of a special sensor which measures the storage conditions or the product quality within the packaging. Information relevant for logistics planning can for example be stored in a small electronic chip. Packaging which plays an active roll in the communication process with users is also known as 'intelligent packaging'. In this article, three such applications are examined: Time-Temperature Indicators (THT's), freshness indicators and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID tags). Article is available in Dutch.

Datachat is based on the integration of radio frequency identification technology (RFID) with sensor technology. ‘Intelligent RFID tags’ capture information about product quality and logistical aspects. The registered information is then transmitted in real-time to a central information system and compared with models for product quality. This enables the product to be declared if it fulfils the stipulated quality requirements at the right moment. More...

The active packaging speaks up
Verpakken Nummer 3, 2002: pp. 12-15
 
"Darling, the pack of groundmeat in our kitchen has left a phone message." Strange? In five to 10 years, this could be quite normal. The packaging of the future would be equipped with a chip with one or more sensors. The sensor measures particular quality characteristics of the product, eg. a dynamic expiry date. This would have great impact on logistics. Article is available in Dutch.

Packaging receives an extra dimension in this information age. As a result, various forms of intelligent packages have been developed. The so-called 'time-temperature indicators' (TTI) are one of the most tested forms of intelligent packaging. However, the developments in this area are still somewhat slow. This article outlines the present state of affairs of the TTI and casts an eye on the future. Article is available in Dutch.