THE TALK OF THE AISLES.(Package Goods)(Food Marketing Institute convention)(Brief Article)

Advertising Age, May, 2003

Byline: Jack Neff

Radio frequency identification chips are generating their own buzz as the packaging industry approaches this week's Food Marketing Institute convention. RFID chips, which are being considered for product packaging, can store and transmit a wealth of data, such as who bought the product, where and for how much-even long after products leave the store.

RFID CHIPS won't be practical for most consumer products until they cost a penny apiece or less. But the technology already is provoking howls of protest from privacy advocates.

So far, technical barriers are falling faster than political ones. Gillette Co. already has ordered a big batch of RFID chips for as little as 5o apiece, the lowest-cost order to date. The marketer of...

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