Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Food Taggants

 Figure where it came from!
  (+5)
(+5) 		  [vote for,
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Many health epidemics related to contaminated food have proven very difficult to track down due to the fact that people move around so much and that distribution networks are so large.

I propose the inclusion of taggants into ingredients or prepackaged products. These microscopic ids will allow investigators to determine the source of the foods eaten by a person over a given period and cross reference that with other infected people thus allowing for rapid determination of potential sources of infection. Constructed of UV sensitive plastics these taggands can be eliminated in the waste treatement process.

—jhomrighaus, Mar 14 2007

Microtrace http://www.microtra...anttechnologies.htm
The original chip taggant. [baconbrain, Mar 14 2007]

[link]






       Apart from the obvious public outcry about putting plastics into food, this isn't such a bad idea.
—wagster, Mar 14 2007
   

       I like it. Tracking for food safety is a good idea. I found these when I Googled:   

       "Non-toxic biodegradable microtaggants   

       Abstract: A biodegradable micro particle for tagging food is disclosed. The particle may be of irregular or regular shape and carries optically recognizable indicia on it."   

       Using taggants for food safety is a good idea.   

       And this:   

       "Paul Hartsock, CEO of Stardust Technologies, believes there are significant opportunities for growth of security taggants in pharmaceutical and food."
—baconbrain, Mar 14 2007
   

       /These microscopic ids will allow investigators to determine the source of the foods eaten by a person over a given period /   

       You're talking about turd analysis, right?
—Texticle, Mar 14 2007
   

       yeah pretty much but I suspect that samples of stomach contents and intestines may retain taggants for longer. Could also have benefit for medical examiners to determine where someone may have eaten before death.
—jhomrighaus, Mar 14 2007
   
      
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