Increasing Food Safety Through the use of Information Technology

In recent years more and more attention has been given to food safety. Food products that we consume in our daily life, if they are not controlled and manufactured on the basis of standard safety standards, then they can become a source of risk to the health of consumers. In this paper we will analyze how, through the use of information systems in agriculture, we can increase food preservation for agricultural products. The proposed system on our side has several key advantages that make it suitable for application in the agricultural sector and low-income developing countries. First, it is a system which has low management and maintenance costs; secondly, it is very simple in use; and thirdly, it can provide accurate, real-time data for farmers, policymakers and consumers. Through the sensors, the farmer receives detailed data on the condition of the products he cultivates and furthermore the consumer is informed about the origin and the process of producing the products they will consume. The use of such systems not only enhances food safety and product competitiveness but also makes farms more efficient and effective. Moreover, the information gathered from these systems can also be used by policy makers to carry out actions related to subsidies and to combat informality.