How information technology can support regulations and best practices for the management of health status of grapevine and product safety

Abstract

The need for knowledge about the origins and qualitative characteristics of food products or plants that are commercialized worldwide has increased due to consumer demands. This fact is due in part to recent negative events related to food production and has, in turn, led to stricter regulations to safeguard public health and ecosystems from the spread of pathogens. Nowadays, many foods and agricultural products have to carry identifying labels or documents, as required by legal regulations (e.g. 2000/13/EC), to establish a safe traceability system. In the EU, grapevines in the certified category must be in line with the most recent directive (2005/43/CE), and associated labels have to report essential data such as the nursery where they were produced. Plant traceability, as in foods, can be supported by Information Technology (IT) and can be considered a best practice in agriculture, as is the case for livestock. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) microchips can represent a safe tool to identify plants and foods that are protected by rights or subjected to specific regulations.