Blockchain Tracking Increases Transparency in Global Food Supply Chain

Title: Blockchain Tracking Increases Transparency in Global Food Supply Chain
The world’s food supply chain is notorious for its opaqueness. From farm to table, foods can travel miles, passing through multiple hands before reaching the final consumer. But, with this complexity comes confusion, contamination risks, and price volatility. Consumers have limited understanding of the quality, origin, and safety of their food products. Blockchain tracking technology is pioneering a revolution to increase transparency throughout the global food supply chain. This article explains how blockchain innovation is transforming food supply chain and its benefits in increasing transparency and accountability.
Roots of Trustlessness
When it comes to food, many consumers are plagued by trust deficits. They remain unsure about:
1. Safety: Are chemicals and pesticides safely applied during agricultural practices?
2. Origin: Is the stated country of origin genuine, and was the crop grown locally?
3. Compliance: Are farming and processing guidelines followed, abiding by rules and regulations?
Traditional methods failed to address trust concerns. Until blockchain technology gained traction, each step in the supply chain worked in isolation without real-time reporting or visibility across the entire pathway. This obscurity led to issues like the 2011 melamine poisonings in pet food, leaving over 700 dogs and cat deaths in California.
Blockchain-enabled Transparency
Distributed ledger technology (DLT) is employed to create, store, and verify data transparently. All parties involved within the supply chain – farmers, distributors, transportation companies, etc. – own a copy of the blockchain registry. Each component of the produce journey is authenticated and timestamped, ensuring precision and accountability throughout the process:
1. Trackability: Individual items can now be tracked easily, from raw materials to market-ready products. Transparency is now the norm rather than the exception.
2. Immutable Records: Once data enters the blockchain system, it remains permanent and verifiable, prohibiting tampering. All transactions recorded are tamper-proof, resulting in a foolproof audit trial.
3. Data Sharing: Stakeholders (e.g. consumers, organizations, and traders) can interact directly with their respective data repositories, fostering secure communication and visibility.
4. Decentralization: Blockchain reduces the reliance on single, traditional databases, preventing a single data breach from influencing the entire global supply chain. Instead, redundancy is built across the network as data is secured through multiple verification nodes.
Implementing Blockchain to the Food Sector
Several influential organizations have now implemented blockchain, addressing the void in transparency created by traditional mechanisms. Examples range from:
* Walmart’s leafy greens case study: As of 2020, consumers can scan blockchain-verified lot numbers to examine the origin of fresh produce as it travels worldwide.
* Danone’s commitment: The Swiss dairy company applies blockchain to map milk production steps, ensuring transparent, end-to-end tracking on a global stage.
* Dutch flower auction group Aalsmeer’s blockchain adaptation: This effort tracks flower crops from seed sources to the eventual bouquet, simplifying the value chain and reassuring customers.
Consequences of Transparence & Accountability
An increase in transparent and accountable interactions across the value chain has widespread implications:
* Improved Food Security: With unbroken visibility between farms, laboratories, and customer homes, consumer confidence grows that the food quality and safety consistently meet regulatory specifications.
* Economic Advantages
+ Certainty: Trust is restored at every stage by knowing the movement of goods ensures the supply side benefits from trust, leading to better decision making and reduced conflicts.
+ Cost Savings
+ Reduced waste & rework with more accurate & real-time stock management
+ Automated audits & document control
* Sustainability: Chain-wide visibility informs the development and implementation of energy-efficient practices by highlighting areas which can be most improved.
Potential Benefits
Apart from the abovementioned features, blockchain may:
* Empower consumers via informed purchasing power
* Unlock data-driven partnerships for improved cooperation and resource usage
* Catalyze collaborations among stakeholders leading to more optimized, efficient operational models
* Encourage ethical trade practices ensuring social and fair labor standards meet regulatory requirements