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Sweden: Pilot project on traceability shows higher earnings for retailers |
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Wednesday, 04 August 2010 08:55 |
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A project on traceability, called eTrace conducted a pilot study that tracked fish all the way from fishing boats in Simrishamn, Sweden through the supply chain to a retailer in Gothenburg, Sweden. Through the use of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tagging and the EPCIS (Electronic Product Code Information Service) standard, customers could be provided with information about where specific fish came from. A website provided retailers with direct access to information and maps for each fish, showing where it was caught and how it came to the store. "Traceability has been a driver for increase sales", said Peter Kallstrom, the owner of Fiskelyckan, a retailer in Gothenburg. "Next to the cod, we posted a map showing where the fish was caught and processed. The map told consumers what they have been waiting to hear, namely that the fish is local. Instead of selling just a few kilos a day, I sold more than 150 kilos over four days. This is a very significant increase for us." The eTrace project is a collaboration between several institutions including SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture, and TraceTracker from Norway; Lund University, Sweden, and the Swedish Board of Fisheries. The objective of the project is to test the feasibility of using the EPCIS standard in the seafood supply chain.
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