Identity preservation is the practice of tracking the details of agricultural shipments so that the specific characteristics of each shipment is known. Identity preserved (IP) is the designation given to such bulk commodities marketed in a manner that isolates and preserves the identity of a shipment, presumably because of unique characteristics that have value otherwise lost through commingling during normal storage, handling and shipping procedures. The concept of IP has been accorded greater importance with the introduction of genetically modified organisms into agriculture. Technical and managerial techniques are used to track and document the paths that agricultural products move in the production process. A fully integrated IP system might track and document a commodity’s seed characteristics, initial planting, growing conditions,

harvesting Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor- ...

shipping Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...

, storage,

processing Processing is a free graphical library and integrated development environment (IDE) built for the electronic arts, new media art, and visual design communities with the purpose of teaching non-programmers the fundamentals of computer programming ...

, packaging, and ultimate sale to the consumer. Separating

organic product An organic product is made from materials produced by organic agriculture. Most well known organic products are organic food items, however clothing and personal care items can also be made with organic agriculture. Many countries have strict c ...

s from conventionally raised ones is one type of IP system. IP systems are a central component of

value chain A value chain is a progression of activities that a firm operating in a specific industry performs in order to deliver a valuable product (i.e., good and/or service) to the end customer. The concept comes through business management and was fir ...

References

* Agricultural marketing Food safety {{Agri-stub