A Zheshilian QR code is printed on a bottle of mineral water produced in Qingtian county. [Photo/Zhejiang Daily]

An international food traceability system is being introduced to Qingtian county – administered by Lishui city in East China's Zhejiang province – called the Global Migration to 2D, or GM2D.

The GM2D is a system that was initiated by a Brussels-based international organization developing and maintaining standards for barcodes, called GS1.

GM2D aims at data and information interconnections between industries by promoting the conversion of global commodity codes from one dimension codes, known as 1D, to two dimension or 2D QR codes by 2027.

Qingtian county has kicked off by introducing the GM2D coding model to 16 local food production companies. They have all connected to the Zheshilian system, a food safety traceability system in Zhejiang and the "Sunshine Factory" – a program that realizes the digitization of food production and the visualization of key processes.

Qingtian Qiyuan Mineral Water Co Ltd is one of the 16 enterprises involved. The production workshop of the company now labels all its bottles of mineral water with a Zheshilian QR code. Comprehensive information about the bottle – including the production batch of the water, the production enterprise and the inspection report – can be accessed by simply scanning a QR code on the packaging.

Qingtian Bureau of Food Safety senior official Shan Miaohui said that his body had liaised with the local finance bureau to secure special funds, to be used to recruit other enterprises to participate in the initiative.

At the same time, the county has carried out a comprehensive inspection of all food production companies in terms of their production and operations status, production processes and product quality management – with the aim of improving the experience of consumers and contributing to the global digital revolution.