"Tracking all the way back through the production process is a huge challenge because it's not an ordinary assembly line," he explained.

"The U.S. has been interested in the total solution," Bergquist noted. "Consumers would like to be pretty sure about the origin and quality and safety of their food before they buy it."

The demand among U.S. consumers for traceability should grow significantly as a result of the recent food-poisoning cases, he added.

Matiq expects the RFID tracking system to be up and running in all of its plants some time next year, he said.

Bergquist said the company is creating the complex tracking system even though Norway's track-and-trace law is fairly limited - requiring only that companies keep track of where they bought a source product.