Monday, June 27, 2011

So much food labeling — how to absorb the information you need w/ #QR Codes

There have been several changes, enactments, and developments to renew and define food labels and how the consumer translates nutrition information. Here are the most recent developments in food packaging and labeling.

•QR code — (or quick response code) may be appearing on a food product, menu or food marketing campaign near you. A QR code, if adopted, would display in addition to the manufacturers barcode, the one we are accustomed to seeing. It appears similarly, in black and white, and essentially is a barcode matrix that encodes a product’s information, but can only be scanned with specific QR scanners, especially smart phones — once again making food and nutrition information more convenient.

If you own a smart phone, download the specific app for scanning and scan a QR code; you can be directed to the product’s website, nutrient information or ingredients, or simply share with friends what you are eating, by tweeting the scanned QR code.

It’s what I would call The Mobile Mangia. It’s also a way to quickly log what you’ve consumed, including an electronic food diary, a calorie and nutrient calculator and a means of understanding how closely you are meeting nutrition goals and your diet with the simple scan of a code. Read More

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