Labels will tell buyers where their produce grew

— -- The world's largest fresh berry producer expects to have labels on most of its berries by next year so consumers can locate the farm that grew them.

Driscoll's, of Watsonville, Calif., is putting HarvestMark labels on clamshells of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and later, blueberries.

The label includes a 16-digit code. By going to HarvestMark or Driscoll's website, consumers will then be able to enter the code and get information on the farm, farmer and growing region.

"Consumers want to know more about the products they take into their bodies. Where it comes from is increasingly relevant," says Douglas Ronan, Driscoll's vice president of marketing.

The ability to quickly track where fresh produce is grown is also key to helping food-safety investigators trace contaminated food back to its source, as well as getting it out of stores faster.

Given numerous recalls of fresh produce in recent years, the industry has come under increasing pressure to improve its ability to track products. While bagged salads, for instance, already have production codes, much fresh produce moves in bulk, making tracking more difficult.

HarvestMark is owned by YottaMark, a California start-up that says it's crafted an easy, inexpensive solution. It's one of dozens of companies making such claims, but it's one of a smaller number that are attempting to make "trace back" information available to consumers.

"This connects us directly to the consumer," says Martin Ley, vice president of Del Campo Supreme, a Mexico-based producer of tomatoes and peppers.

Within weeks, Del Campo will begin putting HarvestMark labels on clamshells, bags and cases of products. Its HarvestMark labels will include the phrase "Where was I grown?" to draw attention to the code. The cost? Less than a penny a clamshell, Ley says.

Del Campo expects to label individual peppers and tomatoes by year's end. That way, it will still be possible to trace their origin if they're mixed with others in stores or repacked by wholesalers.