From Tommy Leighton in California

Earlier this year, a Produce Marketing Association webcast focusing on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in the produce industry found that 45 per cent of participating companies were actively pursuing RFID, and that 48 per cent of participants had been exposed to RFID technology.

In addition, the webcast highlighted PMA research which found that a majority of companies in the produce industry are watching RFID with great interest and are willing to implement RFID within the next 12 to 18 months.

To help its members better understand the RFID technology and its implications for produce, PMA has released RFID in the Produce Supply Chain, a report that addresses the challenges presented to the fresh produce industry by this important technology and examines the benefits of implementation. Supply chain members who purchase this study will learn about:

* RFID tags, RFID readers, signal frequencies, hardware concerns, and the flow of how a RFID tag is read

* The benefits of RFID implementation

* Specific challenges of RFID in the fresh produce industry

* Generic RFID challenges applicable to all industries

* RFID standards

RFID in the Produce Supply Chain is available to PMA members for $79 and is sold electronically as a PDF document. The non-member price is $299. To order this report, contact the PMA Solution Center on +1 (302) 738-7100.