Each time we put up a blog post about barcodes, we really think that we have seen it all, but barcode technology always seems to have tricks up its sleeve. Well, we shouldn’t call them tricks; they’re more like vast reservoirs of untapped technological potential. There are many ingenious people out there trying to utilize barcodes to maximum efficiency and it seems like they’re succeeding, especially with the latest news of a smartphone app in Australia that will divulge all information regarding a food product, including where it comes from, according to this ABC article.
Laura Gartry writes, “A smart phone initiative that will reveal where supermarket produce comes from has been launched by the WA Farmers Federation. AgConnectWA, the federation’s youth arm, has devised barcodes to be placed on supermarket shelves next to beef, lamb, dairy and baked goods.”
That is a really a swell idea, as it transforms your smartphone into an x-ray private eye, able to peer into the history of a piece of produce, extract it, and show it to you. That way, you know everything about it before you purchase it. You can also think of it as like a background check. Chances are you don’t go on a date with just anyone; you like to know everything about them as possible, or at least try to. It’s the safe and only way to be.
Gartry continues, “Scanned with a smart phone, the codes provide information about country-of-origin, with production processes, detailed stories and farm gate prices also available for Western Australian produce. Most smart phones have the ability to scan the quick response (QR) barcodes.”
Nowadays it seems prudent to know everything about the food we’re buying at the grocery store. If we don’t do our homework, the result could be disastrous, similar to the Hepatitis A outbreak in Australia that inspired the creation of this barcode app. With barcodes at your side, know that nothing will surprise you.
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