The Impact of FSMA 204 on RFID Adoption in the Food Industry

RFID technology makes food safer

Every year, millions of people in the United States get sick from eating contaminated food. To reduce this situation, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has introduced a new regulation: FSMA 204. It will be officially implemented on January 20, 2026, requiring stricter tracking of some foods that are prone to problems, such as leafy vegetables, fruits, seafood and nut butters.

Simply put, the goal of FSMA 204 is to make every piece of food “visible”, from picking, refrigeration, transportation, packaging to entering the supermarket, the entire process must be clearly recorded. In this way, if there is a problem, the source can be immediately identified to prevent more people from being affected.

But if you want to do all this well, it is difficult to do it by manual records alone. At this time, RFID (radio frequency identification) technology comes in handy. It is like a “ID card” and “journey recorder” for food. It can automatically collect information without human intervention, and can read quickly, greatly improving efficiency and accuracy.

How does RFID help companies comply with FSMA 204?

Automatically record key data and reduce human errors
FSMA 204 requires companies to record “critical tracking events” (CTEs), such as when they were harvested, where they were transported, how they were refrigerated and packaged, etc. RFID tags can automatically record this information and add time tags, without manual filling, which is fast and accurate.

Real-time tracking, food journey is clear at a glance
A batch of blueberries departs from the farm, how many times it changes vehicles, which cold storage it is stored in, when it arrives at the supermarket… RFID can record and upload this information in real time, making it convenient for companies, supermarkets and regulatory authorities to view it at any time.

Summary

FSMA 204 is an important regulation to improve food safety, and RFID is a powerful tool to help companies comply with regulations and track efficiently. Our RFID tags are durable, long-distance reading, and flexible data encoding, making them very suitable for use in the food industry. In the next few years, as regulations are implemented, more and more food companies will begin to use RFID, making every bite of food safer and more transparent.