The Pudong Agriculture Association will begin labeling a popular variety of locally grown watermelon with Quick Response (QR) codes next month as part of a pilot program that aims to better ensure food safety, local media reported Tuesday.

The QR codes, a kind of matrix barcode, allow consumers to scan the fruit with a common smartphone app to see where it was grown and who grew it, among other information, according to a report in the Shanghai Morning Post. The association plans to label 300,000 watermelons with the codes.

"When consumers scan the QR sticker with a cellphone, it will link to a website where they can see the fruit's planting date, how much fertilizer was used, the date it was picked and contact information for the Pudong Agriculture Association," said Shi Zhenghui, an official with the association.

The labeled watermelons will all come from the 8424 variety, which is one of the most sought-after kinds of watermelons in the city. They were chosen for the pilot program for that reason and because they are just coming into season, said Fan Hongwei, a researcher with the Shanghai Agro-technology Extension Service Center, which is overseeing a program to use QR codes to create a traceable tracking system for fruit sold in the city.

"We aim to further ensure food safety for consumers this way," Shi told the Global Times. "Consumers can call the Pudong Agriculture Association or the planting base to complain about any problems with the melons."

The labels will also prevent vendors from selling other kinds of watermelons under the 8424 name, because the labels will tear if they are tampered with, according to a representative of Gladsome Modern Agricultural Development Co Ltd, which developed the QR codes.

The Shanghai Agro-technology Extension Service Center plans to begin labeling other fruits such as grapes and peaches with QR codes this summer, Fan said.