US-based PakSense says it has agreed to combine its own temperature and time monitoring smart label with the YottaMark group's trace and track Harvestmark technology to offer more concise monitoring during transportation.

PakSense spokesperson Amy Childress told FoodProductionDaily.com that the co-operation forms part of a plan to provide manufacturers, shippers and retailers with a new method for trace-back, trace-forward and cold chain monitoring.

Traceability

Scott Carr, YottaMark's chief executive officer said that traceability and cold chain management were key elements of preserving food safety and quality within the supply chain and a major area for innovation in the industry.

"Now the industry can cost effectively deploy cold chain monitoring, have enterprise-wide access to temperature data, and provide instant trace-back and easy trace-forward," he claimed. "This is a powerful new tool to prevent, detect, and respond to potential food borne illnesses or recall events."

Smart label

According to the company, the smart label product is a small flat adhesive label, which uses integrated electronics to monitor the time and temperature readings from a product during transport.

In working with YottaMark, PakSense says it will also be able to detect where a product has originated as well its destination to give a more concise overview of the supply chain.

Childress claims that once the smart label has been activated during distribution, companies will be able to download a variety of information from the label, regarding the temperature and journey of food products.

According to YottaMark, the Harvestmark system is compatible with the Produce Marketing Associations' traceability guidelines and can be used for both case and pallet-stored products.

The manufacturer also claims that the on-demand system can be adopted without the need for manufacturers and growers to install additional software or servers.

Product availability

The new smart label, which will be launched during the third quarter of 2008, will initially be launched in the US, though Childress said the company would look to work with its distributors for a possible European roll out at a later date.