The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or the Agency) is announcing a public meeting focused on possible Agency level approaches to data quality, data stewardship, data exchange, and data analytics.  The meeting will take place on March 27 in Silver Spring, MD. For complete details including how to submit comments and registration (in person and virtually), visit:  ​https://www.fda.gov/news-events/fda-meetings-conferences-and-workshops/modernizing-fdas-data-strategy-03272020-03272020#event-information

AIM - AIM NA and GS1 Host Committee Summit - April 21 - 23 in Arlington, VA
Open to members and non-members
Participating on a committee gives you an insider's perspective and access to information, resources, standards and key players within today's AIDC industry. Each committee is poised to enhance the advancement and adoption of our technologies on a global basis. 
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To learn more and to register, visit here. 

In response to Frank Yiannas, FDA's Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy, announcement regarding a new FDA approach to food safety, the AIM North America Food Policy WG launched a webinar series to engage and insight discussion around a smarter food supply chain. Each webinar will feature a conversation with an AIM NA food safety professional sharing their experiences of the important job of safeguarding the worlds food supply chain. 

FDA Smarter Food Safety Initiative - What is it and What Does It Mean?                 Register Now
Wednesday, January 29 | Noon ET
During next week's webinar, Jeanne Duckett, Chair, AIM NA Food Policy Committee, explains the FDA’s Strategic Blueprint, currently under development that will outline how FDA plans to leverage technology, and other tools, to create a more digital, traceable and safer food system. This plan includes the use of technologies that are currently used in society and business sectors all around us, such as blockchain, sensor technology, the Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence.  ​ Register today! 

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |January 22, 2020 |AIM, the leading industry association and global authority for innovation, standards, and solutions in barcode, biometrics, IoT, NFC, RFID, RTLS, and RAIN, for nearly 50 years, has named its 2020 industry group chairs. To become an active industry group member, sign-up here. These industry groups will be meeting April 21 - 23 in Arlington, VA. To attend, register here

Scott Austin, Senior Executive VP at Everledger, has been selected to lead the Internet of Things Industry Group (IoT).  The committee, which helps to direct and influence one of the fastest growing areas of innovation in the AIDC industry, provides a forum to better understand and help shape IoT and blockchain technologies that will bring better efficiency using automatic identification and mobility technology solutions.  

Jeanne Duckett, Manager, Technology Development at Avery Dennison RBIS, will chair the Track & Trace Industry Group (T&T).  The committee was created to develop, educate, promote and aid in the adoption of automatic identification strategies designed to support compliance of global regulations related to product traceability.

Jerry Peyton, President and CEO of the Vista IT Systems will assume the Chair position for AIM’s RFID Experts Group (REG).  The committee is responsible for addressing global standards and issues associated with radio frequency identification (RFID).  The REG is currently comprised of more than 40 organizations from the U.S., Europe and Asia.

​Ray Vaughan, Manager, Solutions Engineering at OMRON Microscan will lead the Technical Symbology Committee (TSC), which is comprised of AIM members who are the world’s leading experts on Symbology design.  The committee actively works with companies around the world to ensure global technical specifications are available to the market. 

"AIM is about supporting standards, community, advocacy, and knowledge. The 2020 leadership reflects deep expertise and a strong commitment to support the goals across all industry groups,” said Mary Lou Bosco, AIM Chief Operating Officer.  "This team is passionate about and dedicated to the growth and interoperability of all AIDC technologies.  We look forward to a productive year and continued success with our strategic plan and initiatives."

For more information, biographies, or photos, contact AIM’s headquarters by email or call +1.724.742.4470.

Information | Insight | Influence
Those are the catalysts for success in this industry. In as little as an hour a month, committee involvement is a great way to broaden your industry knowledge while networking and building partnerships with new colleagues.

• Public Policy Work Groups | This work group will educate and influence FDA policy makers, end-user communities, and other policy makers on the effectiveness of AIDC traceability throughout the supply chain.
• Industry Groups | Participation in AIM’s industry groups provide you with an insider’s perspective and access to information, resources, and key technology players in blockchain, barcode, IoT, NFC, RFID, RTLS, RAIN, and standards.
• Call for Speakers | AIM and AIM NA are hosting a series of speaker-led sessions and webinars that focus on how AIDC makes the world more connected.

Shape and Grow the Industry Today!  Participate Now.

AIM's Technical Symbology Committee (TSC) recently released an update to the AIM Data Carrier / Symbology Identifiers Specification. The Symbology Identifier concept provides a standardized way for a device receiving data from a reader to differentiate between the data carriers. This AIM document is a maintence document to ISO/IEC 15424 - Information Technology - Automatic Identification and Data Capture Techniques - Data Carier Identifiers. ​

The US FDA is soliciting comments on its  approach to "A New Era of Smarter Food Safety" [Docket No. FDA-2019-N-4187]. ). One of the key issues is how best to implement automatic identification technologies for the identification and tracking of food products in the supply chain. AIM NA's Food Safety Committee chair, Jeanne Duckett,  submitted AIM North America's comments drafted by members. 

The deadline to submit comments is TODAY - Thursday, December 5. Members are encouraged to utilize the AIM NA comments as a template for their own organization's submission. To review AIM NA's comments, download here.
To submit your own comments on the FDA docket, visit here.  

The IEEE Council on RFID is pleased to announce that they will once again be running our Educational Mega-Challenge as a part of the 14th Annual International Conference on RFID. This year’s topic, It’s RAINing IoT, will concentrate on the integration of RAIN (UHF) RFID into an Internet of Things (IoT) solution. Undergraduate and graduate student teams are invited to submit solutions that use IoT to address technical, social, or economic problems or issues. The projects must have RAIN RFID as a component of the solution, but the RAIN RFID component does not have to be the centerpiece. Proposals can be a part of ongoing research, a completely new concept or a variant of another proposal or solution.

AIM North America board member Jeanne Duckett and senior staff members Mary Lou Bosco and Mike Allen, traveled to Washington DC on Monday October 21 to provide comments at the FDA Public Meeting “New Era of Smarter Food Safety.” This event kicked off an initiative that focuses on food traceability, digital technology, and evolving business models that will foster a culture of food safety. Download the association's comments here.

According to Deputy FDA Commissioner for Food Policy & Response Frank Yiannas, “Smarter food safety isn’t just a slogan or a tagline. It’s much more than that. Instead, it’s a new approach to food safety, a new mindset, one that recognizes and builds on the progress made in the past but incorporates the use of new technologies that are being used in society and business sectors all around us, such as blockchain, sensor technology, the Internet of Things, and Artificial Intelligence.”

“AIM North America was honored to have the opportunity to share our knowledge of how AIDC technology is a proven, reliable and cost-effective component in food supply chain transparency and visibility,” stated Mary Lou Bosco, COO, AIM North America.

AIM members Avery Dennison, FoodLogiQ, and GS1 US were also selected to provide comments.

The deadline to provide public comments ends November 20, 2019. Complete details on the FDA Request for Comments period on a New Era of Smarter Food Safety can be found at https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=FDA-2019-N-4187-0001.