SBIR-STTR Award

In 2017 the CDC estimated 35,000 American got sick from Vibrio parahaemolyticus transmitted by shellfish--a 54% increase. However, according to the co-chair of the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Commission, “Our current system of traceback is inadequate.... Records are lost. Handwriting is illegible. More than half of all traceback investigations fail because the information in the value chain is lost.” Improvements in technology give us a unique opportunity to improve food safety. Shellfish Solutions will leverage existing smart phones, QR codes, mobile thermal printers and cloud computing to build an inexpensive traceability system that will be lower cost to the existing handwritten tag system and significantly more powerful. We will improve shellfish safety while reducing the paperwork burden on farms. To encourage adoption, farms will have the opportunity to market their product directly to dealers, chefs and consumers. Shellfish Solutions will embed videos, web pages and social media feeds into the QR code so anyone can learn more about the farm with their smartphone.

The Centers for Disease Control estimates Vibrio (parahaemolyticus & vulnificus) causes 80,000 illnesses and 100 deaths in the United States every year, most commonly from eating raw or undercooked seafood such as oysters. However, according to the co-chair of the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference: “Our current [tracking] system…is inadequate.... More than half of all traceback investigations fail because the information in the value chain is lost.” In Phase I, Shellfish Solutions piloted a digital traceability and marketing system that is lower cost than the existing largely handwritten system and more powerful: Saving users significant amounts of time while improving compliance. The value extends beyond regulatory compliance. QR codes embedded on the regulatory tags gives farmers/harvesters the opportunity to tell their unique story directly to chefs and consumers--connecting the consumer with the producers of their food. The increasing toll on consumer health from unsafe food is leading companies and regulators to look for a high quality, easy to use, and cost-effective digital traceability system. Without such a system many companies will not be able to meet the increasing regulatory requirements. Phase II will add features necessary to make this system commercially ready for shellfish harvesters and Wholesalers in the US.