Grower images and other useful information are now available to Japanese shoppers with just a swipe of a barcode.

Technologists have created a customer bar-code system that allows shoppers to drum up not only details of the item, but also a picture of its producer.

Several stores belonging to Japanese chain Aeon group, which has become the latest supermarket member of EurepGAP, have already begun to label packs in this way, the chain’s section director Chiyuki Uehara, revealed at last week’s EurepGAP conference in Prague.

The company, which prides itself on its commitment to the environment, also employs its staff to clear rubbish from the streets around the stores.

While European retailers may not be quite so forward thinking, there are moves to integrate the information available through good agricultural practice further along the distribution chain.

Metro in Dusseldorf, for example, traces pallets through its warehouse with bar codes, carrying each product’s complete history.

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