US 6,982,640 B2
RFID system and method for tracking food freshness
Jeff Lindsay, Appleton, Wis. (US); and Walter C. Reade, Appleton, Wis. (US)
Assigned to Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc., Neenah, Wis. (US)
Filed on Nov. 21, 2002, as Appl. No. 10/301,883.
Prior Publication US 2004/0100380 A1, May 27, 2004
Int. Cl. G08B 21/00 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 340—540 45 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for tracking the freshness or expiration dates of food products put into storage, said method comprising:
providing food products placed into storage with smart tags, the smart tags being associated with food product information wherein said food product information comprises at least one of product identification data, freshness data, or expiration date data;
scanning the food products that are placed into storage with a smart tag scanner, the scanner configured to retrieve the food product information associated with the smart tags;
storing the food product information for the food products in storage;
storing a voice message and associating said voice message with said food product information; and
alerting the user when the retrieved food product information indicates that at least one of the following events has occurred:
(a) a food product in storage is expired;
(b) a food product in storage no longer fresh; and
(c) a food product being placed into storage has expired or is no longer fresh.