Uso de tecnología RFID para la prevención de fraudes y adulteraciones en la industria de fabricación de embutidos hechos a base de carne de cerdo

Abstract

CONDITION FOR PUBLICATION OF PROJECT. The pork sausage industry faces increasing fraud and adulteration problems that compromise food safety and consumer confidence. The general objective of this research is to apply RFID technology to prevent fraud and adulteration, improving traceability, authenticity and quality control throughout the supply chain. The justification lies in the urgent need to implement advanced traceability systems given the 1041% increase in food fraud cases between 2020 and 2023. An RFID system was implemented using passive UHF tags (860-960 MHz), fixed and mobile readers, and specialized middleware. The methodology followed a quasi-experimental design comparing an RFID line versus a control line for 6 months, processing 3,200 batches and 450,000 sausage units. Anomaly detection algorithms were applied and operational performance metrics were evaluated. Results demonstrated 98.4% effectiveness in anomaly detection, 95.6% reduction in traceability times (from 4.5 hours to 12 minutes), and 87% decrease in inventory errors. The system achieved 99.7% reading accuracy and 99.6% operational availability. The RFID system constitutes a viable and effective solution to prevent fraud in pork sausages, with quantifiable economic benefits and significant improvements in food safety and operational efficiency. Keywords: RFID, Traceability, Food Fraud, Sausages, Food Safety