A Technical Deep-Dive into QR Codes and Their Multispectral Industrial Applications |
Chapter 20: Industry 7 - Food and Beverage: Farm-to-Fork |
Short Summary |
This chapter explores the transformative role of QR codes in food and beverage traceability, enabling farm-to-fork transparency for consumers. QR codes on produce packaging and meat products provide access to harvest GPS coordinates, pesticide and fertilizer use data, transit temperature records, and complete supply chain histories. The regulatory landscape, including the FDA's Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Rule 204, is driving adoption, with a compliance deadline of January 2026 (recently extended to 2028 for some provisions). We examine real-world American applications: Driscoll's serialization of over one billion berry clamshells with unique QR codes, Aspen Produce's QR codes on potato bag closures, blockchain-based systems like FarmTracer in Washington State, and Walmart's blockchain traceability initiative. We also review academic research demonstrating U.S. consumers' willingness to pay for QR-based traceability and the emerging GS1 Digital Link standard that promises to consolidate product information into a single scannable code. |
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Introduction: The Consumer's Right to Know |
Walk down the produce aisle of any American grocery store today, and you will notice something new on many packages: a QR code. This small square is not just another marketing gimmick; it is a gateway to the product's complete history. With a single scan, consumers can now see where their food was grown, what inputs were used, when it was harvested, and how it traveled to the store. |
This transparency is not merely a marketing trend. It is a response to a series of high-profile foodborne illness outbreaks that have shaken consumer confidence. In June 2018, an E. coli outbreak in romaine lettuce took four months to identify the source farms . The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned consumers against romaine lettuce regardless of growing region after another E. coli outbreak spread across 16 states . The economic impact was devastating, and demand for non-contaminated products suffered . |
The response has been a regulatory push toward modernized traceability. The FDA's New Era of Smarter Food Safety, outlined in 2020, leverages technology to achieve a safer, more digital, traceable food system. In 2022, the FDA published the Food Traceability Final Rule (FTL) to implement the Food Safety Modernization Act's (FSMA) Rule 204(d), requiring companies that manufacture, process, pack, or hold specific high-risk foods to maintain digital traceability records and respond to FDA information requests within 24 hours . While the compliance date has been extended to 2028 for some provisions, the direction is clear: the food industry must modernize its traceability systems. |
At the heart of this modernization is the QR code. By encoding traceability information into a scannable format, QR codes bridge the gap between physical products and digital records, giving consumers, retailers, and regulators unprecedented visibility into the food supply chain. |
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The Technology: What a Farm-to-Fork QR Code Contains |
A farm-to-fork QR code on food packaging typically links to a digital record containing a wealth of information about the product's journey. As the FDA's FSMA Rule 204 requires, this record includes key data elements (KDEs) and traceability lot codes (TLCs) that allow the product to be traced through the supply chain . |
The information accessible via a farm-to-fork QR code can include : |
Origin Details: Farm name, location (often including GPS coordinates), and cultivation methods. |
Harvest Information: Harvest date, time, and conditions. |
Inputs: Pesticide and fertilizer use, water usage, and any treatments applied. |
Processing and Packaging: Processing dates, batch numbers, expiration dates, and packaging details. |
Transit Data: Temperature monitoring during transport, handling conditions, and logistics history. |
Certifications: Organic, pesticide-free, non-GMO, fair trade, and other credential certifications. |
Sustainability Metrics: Carbon footprint, water usage, and ethical sourcing information. |
As one industry expert explained, 'A finished good sitting on a retail shelf has a story that runs through dozens of hands, hundreds of touchpoints, and potentially thousands of data records' . The QR code is the key that unlocks this story for consumers and supply chain partners. |
The data behind the QR code is typically stored in a system of record---an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, warehouse management system (WMS), or dedicated traceability software . The QR code itself is simply the data carrier; it points to the system of record where the detailed information is stored. When the code is scanned, the system retrieves and displays the relevant data. |
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The Rise of Blockchain in Food Traceability |
Blockchain technology has emerged as a powerful complement to QR codes in farm-to-fork traceability. Blockchain's key advantage is its immutability: once a record is entered onto a blockchain, it cannot be altered, providing a tamper-proof audit trail . |
A study from Clemson University and Mississippi State University found that U.S. consumers are willing to pay a premium for blockchain-based QR code traceability. The research, which surveyed consumers about leafy greens, found a median willingness-to-pay of about $1.45 for access to traceability information and an additional $0.33-$0.38 if the information was blockchain-verified . The study noted that 'communicating the specific technology used to implement food traceability---including blockchain technology---can increase the price consumers are willing to pay for the product by up to 9%' . |
Walmart was an early adopter of blockchain-based traceability. The retailer piloted the IBM Food Trust blockchain to trace the origin of mangoes in 2016 and now requires its leafy green suppliers to use it . This system allows Walmart to trace a product's origin in seconds rather than days. |
However, blockchain is not a silver bullet. As one analysis noted, 'blockchain technology is not capable of achieving complete supply-chain traceability ... if the intention is to follow individual animals and their own meat. For cattle and beef, there is so much sorting, commingling, mixing, blending, and transferring of ownership that it is impossible to keep track of the bits and pieces of an individual animal' . For such products, DNA testing combined with QR codes and blockchain may be necessary to achieve true farm-to-fork traceability . |
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The Regulatory Landscape: FSMA 204 and Beyond |
The regulatory push for traceability is a primary driver of QR code adoption in the food industry. The FDA's FSMA Rule 204, also known as the Food Traceability Final Rule, requires companies to maintain digital traceability records for foods on the Food Traceability List (FTL), which includes leafy greens, certain fruits and vegetables, and other high-risk foods . |
Key requirements of FSMA 204 include : |
1. Record Specific Data: Companies must record specific data at defined points in the supply chain. |
2. Link to Traceability Lot Codes (TLCs): Each product must be linked to a unique lot code. |
3. 24-Hour Response: Companies must retrieve and provide sortable electronic records to the FDA within 24 hours of a request. |
The compliance date has been a moving target. In August 2025, the FDA extended the compliance deadline by 30 months to 2028, recognizing the challenges industry faces in building the necessary infrastructure . This extension gives companies additional time to implement solutions that can scale with their business. |
However, regulatory pressure is only part of the story. As one industry expert noted, 'Retailers are demanding traceability data from their suppliers. They are demanding now, not in two years, now. Major grocery chains have already issued requirements to their private label and branded suppliers for end-to-end lot traceability that can be surfaced at the product level' . The market is moving faster than the regulators. |
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US Application Examples: Farm-to-Fork in Practice |
Example 1: Driscoll's - One Billion Serialized Berry Clamshells |
Driscoll's, the massive berry-producing brand, has undertaken one of the most ambitious serialization projects in fresh produce history. The company has placed a unique QR code on more than one billion clamshells of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries . |
The project was driven by a fundamental problem: Driscoll's received more than two million consumer survey responses per year but could not act on the feedback because it lacked connection to specific products . 'Consumers say 'we love your berries,' but that information was useless, because you don't know the variety, you don't know where those berries came from,' explained Herb Wong, chief customer officer at Antares Vision, the company that partnered with Driscoll's . |
The solution was to give every clamshell a unique identifier linking it back to its specific variety, grower, harvest event, and field block. The QR code is applied to each clamshell at the label manufacturer. At each of Driscoll's more than 4,000 farms, dedicated personnel use Zebra handheld scanners to tie that serial number to the ranch, date, field block, and variety . |
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The project achieved impressive metrics: |
98.7% scan accuracy (against a 99% target) |
Sub-second scan time - 0.55 seconds average on Zebra devices |
50+ million serial numbers processed per month |
11,000+ scanning devices across farms in the US and Mexico |
- Projected 2.7 billion serial numbers annually by 2028 |
The project has already delivered valuable insights. 'Quality problems can now be isolated within days rather than weeks, stopping substandard product before it reaches more consumers' . Driscoll's is now migrating to the GS1 Digital Link standard, which will allow retailers and consumers across the supply chain to access the data. |
The team navigated a significant internal tension: marketing wanted the QR code as small as possible to preserve the packaging's visual appeal, while operations needed it large enough for reliable scanning. The compromise allowed the project to move forward . As Wong noted, 'Not everything required a complex technical solution. Some things just take care of themselves' . |
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Example 2: Aspen Produce - QR Codes on Potato Bag Closures |
Aspen Produce, a vertically integrated farming-shipping-marketing operation in Center, Colorado, has upgraded its packaging with a new Kwik Lok print system that codes all bag closures with traceability information . |
The system, which was tested and implemented in 2024, prints 2D QR codes on the Kwik Lok closures of potato bags. The codes are scanned and read by smartphones, providing traceability information to retailers and consumers . |
Dwayne Weyers, a principal at Aspen Produce, said the new technology is driven by food safety requirements. The printed Kwik Loks are being used on all bags except the 50-pound and hundredweight sizes . The company sees additional applications beyond traceability, including reaching consumers through QR codes on packaging, collateral materials, and advertising . |
In a parallel development, Kwik Lok partnered with Trustwell, a food technology company, to offer closures with QR codes that provide detailed information about food origin and safety, ensuring compliance with FSMA and Sunrise 2027---the shift from UPC barcodes to 2D barcodes . As Chris Latta of Kwik Lok explained, 'When the bag is closed, we're delivering a label that is having the lot information printed right onto it... When it comes to tracing a recall, we can trace it down to the last bag' . |
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Example 3: FarmTracer - Blockchain-Based Transparency in Washington State |
Royal Family Farming in Royal City, Washington, has partnered with Grow United, a technology startup, to build FarmTracer---a blockchain-based app that allows consumers to trace food products from farm to fork . |
FarmTracer provides complete transparency, showing consumers everything about the farm, from the diet fed to animals to the product's carbon footprint. The app uses the Grow Blockchain to verify and confirm actions in the product's lifecycle, such as origin, growing location, and processing date . |
Will Taylor, President of Grow United, explained the mission: 'The mission of FarmTracer is to create consumer trust through transparent production' . The app is currently partnered with multiple farmers and producers in Washington State and surrounding areas and is expanding nationally. |
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Example 4: Grass Roots Farmers' Cooperative - Blockchain for Meat Traceability |
Grass Roots Farmers' Cooperative in Arkansas, in partnership with the British startup Provenance, has used blockchain technology to track meat products from farm to fork . The co-op placed QR codes on meat products, allowing customers to scan and track their food on the blockchain using Provenance's platform . |
Cody Hopkins, Grass Roots general manager, explained the motivation: 'Americans have an increasing interest in better understanding what they're eating. According to the 2016 Label Insight Study, 83 percent of consumers want more information about what's in their food' . The same study showed that 75 percent of U.S. citizens do not trust the accuracy of food labels . |
The QR code allows consumers to see who raised the animal, how it was raised, how many animals were in its batch and how they lived, and who the butcher was and how it was harvested . San Francisco-based Golden Gate Meat Company was the first to trial the system . |
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Example 5: Walmart - Blockchain Traceability for Leafy Greens |
Walmart has been a pioneer in blockchain-based food traceability. The retailer piloted the IBM Food Trust blockchain to trace mangoes in 2016 and now requires its leafy green suppliers to use it . The system allows Walmart to trace a product's origin in seconds rather than days---a critical capability for managing foodborne illness outbreaks. |
The company has also explored blockchain technology for its Angus beef supply chain, connecting ranchers, feedyard operators, packers, and retailers . This vertical integration approach is well-suited to blockchain, as the company controls the entire supply chain. |
The GS1 Digital Link: The Future of QR Codes in Food |
A significant development in QR code technology for food traceability is the GS1 Digital Link standard. Powered by GS1, the global organization for data compliance, the Digital Link is the next evolution of barcode technology . |
The Digital Link connects a product's unique identity---including the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), batch number, best-before date, and serial number---to the internet . This enables real-time access to both business-to-business (B2B) and consumer-facing (B2C) information . |
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The advantages of the Digital Link are substantial : |
Consolidation: A single QR code replaces multiple codes (UPC, promotional QR codes, etc.) on packaging. |
Real-time Updates: Brands can update ingredient information instantly without requiring packaging reprints. |
Traceability: The Digital Link provides visibility across the supply chain, supporting FSMA compliance. |
Consumer Engagement: Brands can deliver interactive experiences, including product origins, nutritional information, certifications, recipes, loyalty rewards, and recycling guidance. |
Markem-Imaje, a global leader in product identification solutions, demonstrated GS1 Digital Link technology at PACK EXPO Las Vegas in September 2025. The company invited brands and retailers to discover how the next generation of QR codes can enhance production efficiency, improve supply chain transparency, and boost brand loyalty . |
While 1D and 2D barcodes will coexist for some time, the GS1 Digital Link is positioned as the standard that will eventually replace the traditional UPC . 'It's really going to be driving a significant shift in how we interact with brands, with products and with the entire supply chain because it's providing visibility at a level that we've never seen before,' said Chris Latta of Kwik Lok . |
Driscoll's is already migrating its proprietary QR codes to GS1 Digital Link. The company is running a live pilot with three major retail partners . The migration will complete the move from a powerful internal tool to a fully interoperable system that any retailer or consumer can access. |
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Consumer Willingness to Pay for Traceability |
Research confirms that U.S. consumers value QR-based traceability and are willing to pay for it. The Clemson/Mississippi State study found that consumers are willing to pay a median of $1.45 for access to traceability information and an additional $0.33-$0.38 if the information is blockchain-verified . |
The study focused on leafy greens---romaine lettuce and spinach---which are economically important and prone to foodborne illness outbreaks. The researchers noted that 'communicating the specific technology used to implement food traceability---including blockchain technology---can increase the price consumers are willing to pay for the product by up to 9%' . |
The study also found that consumers discount imported products relative to domestically produced leafy greens. However, if domestically produced, consumers were not willing to pay more to know the region within a state where the product was grown . This suggests that consumers primarily value traceability information for its safety and quality assurance functions rather than for hyper-local provenance. |
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Challenges in Farm-to-Fork Traceability |
Despite the promise of QR code-based traceability, several challenges remain. |
Data Integration Across Enterprises. True farm-to-fork traceability requires integrating systems across multiple enterprises. A finished product has a story that 'runs through dozens of hands, hundreds of touchpoints, and potentially thousands of data records' . The ingredients come from growers who track in one system; the co-manufacturer operates in another; the 3PL has its own WMS; the distributor runs their own ERP . As one expert noted, 'Your traceability is only as strong as your weakest supplier link. If your Tier 2 ingredient supplier is still running on a legacy system that cannot export a structured lot record, your digital passport has a hole in it' . |
Process and People Gaps. 'Technology does not trace food. People do,' one expert observed . A system is only as good as the humans entering data into it, validating it, and acting on it. If a receiving team is still writing lot numbers on paper tickets and entering them two days later, the real-time traceability system is fiction . |
Physical Challenges. In field conditions, scanning QR codes can be challenging. Driscoll's initial attempts at serialization stalled at 40% scan accuracy due to dirty, wet, and variable field conditions . The solution required 99% accuracy, sub-second scan speed, and compatibility with consumer-grade hardware . |
Packaging Design Tensions. The tension between marketing and operations, which Driscoll's encountered over the 'pimple' QR code, is common. Operational requirements (large code for reliable scanning) and brand requirements (small code for visual appeal) are not always aligned . |
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The Future of Farm-to-Fork Traceability |
The future of food traceability lies in deeper integration of QR codes with digital technologies. |
GS1 Digital Link Adoption. As more brands and retailers adopt the GS1 Digital Link standard, QR codes will become the universal gateway to product information across the supply chain . |
Real-time Updates. The Digital Link enables brands to update ingredient information instantly, supporting consumer demand for transparency around additives and sourcing . |
AI-Powered Traceability. Machine learning algorithms can analyze traceability data to identify patterns, predict contamination risks, and optimize supply chains. |
Blockchain Verification. Blockchain technology will increasingly be used to verify traceability data, providing consumers with confidence in the information they access via QR codes . |
Integration with DNA Traceability. For meat products, DNA testing combined with QR codes and blockchain may be the ultimate solution for individual animal traceability . |
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Detailed Closing Summary |
Let us now consolidate everything we have covered in this chapter, reflecting on the significance of QR codes in farm-to-fork food traceability. |
QR codes on food packaging are transforming the relationship between consumers and their food. By encoding traceability information into a scannable format, QR codes provide access to harvest GPS coordinates, pesticide use data, transit temperatures, and complete supply chain histories. |
The regulatory landscape is a primary driver of adoption. The FDA's Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Rule 204 requires companies to maintain digital traceability records for high-risk foods and respond to FDA information requests within 24 hours . The compliance deadline has been extended to 2028, but retailers are already demanding end-to-end traceability from their suppliers . |
Consumer research confirms that QR-based traceability is valued. U.S. consumers are willing to pay a median of $1.45 for access to traceability information and an additional premium for blockchain-verified data . |
American companies are leading the adoption of farm-to-fork QR codes. Driscoll's has serialized over one billion berry clamshells with unique QR codes, achieving 98.7% scan accuracy and processing 50 million serial numbers per month . The project allows the company to link consumer feedback to specific farms and varieties. |
Aspen Produce has upgraded its potato bag packaging with QR codes on Kwik Lok closures, driven by food safety requirements. Kwik Lok's partnership with Trustwell offers closures with QR codes that provide detailed information about food origin and safety . |
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FarmTracer, a blockchain-based app from Washington State, allows consumers to trace food products from farm to fork, showing details from animal diet to carbon footprint . |
Grass Roots Farmers' Cooperative in Arkansas uses blockchain and QR codes for meat traceability, providing consumers with visibility into animal raising and harvesting practices . |
Walmart has been a pioneer, piloting the IBM Food Trust blockchain for traceability and now requiring leafy green suppliers to use it . |
The GS1 Digital Link standard represents the future of QR codes in food. It consolidates multiple codes into a single QR code that supports POS systems while enabling dynamic digital content, real-time updates, and consumer engagement . Driscoll's is migrating to this standard. |
Challenges remain: integrating systems across enterprises, overcoming people and process gaps, managing physical field conditions, and balancing operational and marketing requirements. However, the direction is clear: QR codes are becoming the universal gateway to food traceability information. |
For the consumer, the QR code on a package of berries or a bag of potatoes is an invitation to transparency---a way to know where their food came from, how it was grown, and whether it is safe. For the food company, it is a tool for regulatory compliance, consumer trust, and brand loyalty. For the food system as a whole, it is a step toward a safer, more transparent, and more sustainable future. |
cs@easiersoft.com