QINGDAO has become one of China’s 10 cities to pilot a meat and vegetable traceability system in supermarkets and markets.

    Using a tracking code on the receipt of vegetable and meat purchases, customers can track the food’s production and distribution via the Internet or terminals in stores.

    Qingdao will spend three years establishing the tracing system. By the end of this year, a pork quality tracing system will be built and by 2011, vegetable tracing systems will be established at all wholesale markets and 70 percent retail markets in the city. By 2012 all the meat and vegetable tracing systems will be well-established.

    The city will upgrade its existing meat and vegetable distribution processes and establish the tracing system in vegetable wholesale markets, farm produce markets, medium and large supermarkets, city butchers, meat shops and enterprises that use large amounts of meat and vegetables.

    The government will issue an IC card to meat and vegetable vendors in supermarkets and markets and supervise butchers and wholesale markets through a long-distance monitoring system.(Li Hao, Qing Bao)