Shizuoka Prefecture will equip each mandarin with its own personal history, stored o­n an IC chip. Full deployment (meaning, every mandarin accounted for) of the technology isn't until 2006, but testing in certain areas will begin as soon as next year.
Oh, and this is a Yomiuri article. So you know the drill - paraphrasing.

As soon as next year in Shizuoka Prefecture, you too could know at a glance what agricultural chemicals were used to create your mandarin, and under what environment it was raised, via the "traceability" system set to be introduced. This is all aimed at letting people feel safer by appealing to them in that they will know the detailed upbringing of their mandarin. This includes eliminating the all-to-common discrimination of mandarins from other areas of production.

Ever since Mad Cow Disease, the need to restore the credibility of food safety has elevated. While other history management systems have been enacted in other areas, this is the first time it will be used o­n mandarins in an entire prefecture. It is being enacted by Prefecture Mandarin Experiment Labs (?), the Aquatic Farming Administration, and a few other independent administations such as the "Agriculture/Organic Related Specific Industry Technology Research Oganization."

For the next 2 years, starting next year, there will be a few test markets all across the country, and by 2006, it is supposed to be prefecture-wide.The producer will input the birthplace, shipping date, chemicals used, and sugar content information into the IC chip, and attach it to the mandarin's box. After shipping, markets and small shops will input the time of handling. When the consumer goes to buy their mandarin, they will go to a computer in the small shop and read the information stored o­n the IC chip.

This is entirely befitting of the supposed "best in Japan" Shizuoka mandarins. The prefecture hopes that "this isn't about just the brand name or appearances, we would like genuine articles to be selected."

Original Article:
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/net/news/20040106ij63.htm