Consider IBM, Oracle On This Venue (IBM, ORCL)

IBM IBM and Oracle ORCL may generate sales as a new law in the country pushes computer tracking for food, writes Bloomberg. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill on December 21 and the Senate passed the bill last month. The bill gives the U.S. Food and Drug Administration the ability to determine over the next couple of years how to track food for safety reasons. The bill is currently awaiting President Obama's signature. Many are suggesting that the FDA would require farms and manufacturers buy computer systems to monitor and track shipments. This is incrementally beneficial to IBM and Oracle, as these companies produce the labels and scanning devices to enable tracking systems. IBM is seen as more of a beneficiary due to its advances in RFID technology and similar technologies for drug tracking, but Oracle would benefit nonetheless. This is an extremely important bill as an estimated 76 million people contract food-borne illnesses in the U.S. each year. 325,000 of these people are hospitalized, and ultimately 5,000 of them die. This costs the economy to the tune of $152 billion via health care and related expenses, according to Georgetown University's Produce Safety Project report in March. Shares of IBM are up 87 cents to $146.58, while Oracle is down 2 cents to $31.55. Disclosure: no position in IBM or ORCL