I am an inveterate article clipper. I specialize in tracking emerging technologies so whenever I come across an article that falls under nanotechnology, robotics, cleantech or radio frequency identification technology (RFID) technology, I tend to clip it and file it away.

Often these old articles just gather dust in my office. Sometimes, however, they can lead to surprising insights; and I think I have just stumbled upon one that I would like to share with Jump the Curve readers.

This past March, I clipped an article from the Wall Street Journal entitled “Trailing Virulent Veggies.” The article detailed how Dole Food Company was now employing RFID to better track its lettuce and other produce as it moved from the farm fields through the processing facility and, ultimately, to the store shelf.

The company took this action in response to the September 2006 crisis in which some of its bagged spinach was implicated in a serious E. coli breakout that killed three people and sickened hundreds more.

RFID is on the Case

Was the investment in RFID worth it? Absolutely. I say this because just the other day it was reported that concerns of another E. coli outbreak had sparked a recall of Dole-grown lettuce. It is worth noting, however, that this most recent recall is vastly different from the one in September 2006 which was initiated only after serious problems had already arisen. This time the company took prompt and preemptive action before any consumers were even known to have gotten ill. It is a great example of a company using existing technology to “walk the escalator” and prevent future problems. Let me explain.

On Monday, Dole initiated a voluntary recall. Specifically, the company was able to pinpoint precisely which bags of lettuce were most susceptible to having been exposed to the disease. Moreover, the company knew exactly where those bags of lettuce were sent.

In fact, so detailed was the information that Dole officials knew that only bags with the production codes “A24924A” and “A24924B” were at risk and that 528 bags had been distributed in Canada and 4,530 bags across eight states in the United States.

No Shortage of Other Opportunities

All of this is significant because it demonstrates the incredible potential of RFID technology to not only help large companies keep tight track of inventory, it also shows how the technology can lower costs by limiting recalls to only those products that are actually at risk. For instance in Dole’s case, it didn’t need to recall every single bag of lettuce across North America. As an added benefit, by being able to take swift action, the company was also likely able to reduce its exposure to legal liability issues.

The folks at Dole didn’t return my calls so I don’t know which company supplies it with RFID chips, but you can bet that a lot of other major manufacturers—especially companies such as Mattel, which has recently had to recall tainted toys as well as Dell and Sony both of whom experienced major problems with faulty batteries in the past year—have taken note of Dole’s ability to use RFID technology to engage in effective damage control.

The potential is there for RFID to benefit other industries as well. One industry that immediately springs to mind is the pharmaceutical sector. Pfizer and AmeriSource Bergen, among others, are already aggressively investing in RFID technology. And while their reasons for doing so have more to do with preventing counterfeit drugs and keeping better track of inventories for logistical reasons, you can bet they now also understand RFID’s ability to help them effectively recall drugs in the event one of their brands somehow becomes tainted (such as the famous Tylenol case in 1982).

Bottom-line

All told, I think the event represents a watershed event for RFID technology. Why? Because this latest E. coli scare proves RFID isn’t on the dole, it is now proving its merit out in the field in real world situations. (As I mentioned last week, however, it is important for executives to draw a distinction between the future potential of RFID technology that is being used to track commercials products and that which is being implanted in animals and humans by such companies as VeriChip. The latter, as I explained here, could be facing some serious issues.)

Jack Uldrich is a writer, public speaker and host of jumpthecurve.net. He is the author of seven books, including Jump the Curve and The Next Big Thing is Really Small: How Nanotechnology Will Change the Future of Your Business, and speaks frequently on future trends, innovation, change management, nanotechnology, robotics, RFID technology and executive leadership.