> They can actually be used where you take your mobile device and you scan it and it can give you more information about the product — whether it’s the sourcing of the product, whether it’s gluten free, whether it’s keto friendly.
This is the more important part to me. I've long been proponent of far stricter and more comprehensive labelling rules, especially for foods. This won't make those weak laws any better, and the corporations that sell us food will continue to fight tooth and nail to deny us more information about what they'd have us put in our body. But having a common interface to get more info to consumers is better than the constraints of physical labelling and might at least expand that conversation and get consumers wanting more.
That's just marketing blabber from whoever bought this article. Everything on the shelf already has a UPC code. If a retailer wanted to build this, they could do it today without needing any new hardware, by letting your phone camera scan UPC codes.
This is the more important part to me. I've long been proponent of far stricter and more comprehensive labelling rules, especially for foods. This won't make those weak laws any better, and the corporations that sell us food will continue to fight tooth and nail to deny us more information about what they'd have us put in our body. But having a common interface to get more info to consumers is better than the constraints of physical labelling and might at least expand that conversation and get consumers wanting more.