In reporting on the recent “RFID Smart Labels USA” event, IDTechEx noted that Tyson Foods successfully implemented ultra-high-frequency RFID to comply with a Wal-Mart RFID mandate. “A major problem for Tyson is that its meat must pass through a metal detector as it leaves for retailer distribution centers. An RFID tag applied before this stage would set off the alarm. This has prevented Tyson benefiting from the RFID system within the manufacturing process. Looking into the future, Tyson Foods wanted to see ‘food-friendly’ RFID tags at lower prices. Beyond compliance, it waits for chipless tags, which would enable cost-effective tagging of all the products it manufactures.”
Meanwhile, IDTechEx reports that Gillette’s Fusion razor system represents “the company’s first product where RFID is applied to all product cases and pallets. These are shipped to 400 locations. The cases are tagged as they are packed,” reports IDTechEx. “Tags are read as they arrive at retailers. Gillette reported its RFID results as ‘phenomenal.’”