ALL watermelons at Xinzhuang Village in Jimo now had “anti-counterfeit labels.”

    The labels were like identification cards and could be traced to the grower, said Sun Xian, a village official. “Watermelons in our village are popular in neighboring areas, so there were many claiming to have ‘Xinzhuang’ watermelons on the market. This had affected our sales and reputation, so we came up with this idea to protect our rights,” said Sun.

    The label was being carved by farmers themselves.

    “This can also help us control quality. If a watermelon was found to contain excessive pesticide residue by the quality supervision administration, we will know who grew the watermelon from the marking. This could also help raise farmers’ awareness of quality control,” he said.

    (Wang Yuanyuan, Qian Zhuo)