Firms adopting blockchain to improve food safety

NEW YORK: The food industry is turning to the same technology used by virtual currencies to strengthen food safety and inventory management by tracking food from farm to table.

Working with IBM, Wal-Mart Stores is testing the technology system on mangos in the United States and pork in China.

Blockchain, the technology behind virtual currency bitcoin, is a digital system that allows counter parties to transact using individual codes for goods.

“I see a lot of potential to create what I call a digital and transparent food system,” said WalMart food safety vice-president Frank Yiannas.

The technology enables parties in the supply chain to share details such as the date an animal was slaughtered or the weather conditions at harvest time.

Data can be stored through a photograph on a smartphone that is transmitted onto a dedicated platform.

The system can also counter fraud and mistaken deliveries, champions of the technology say.

“The advantage of blockchain is that the ledger is immediately updated and all the parties have access to the latest information,” said Bill Fearnley Jr, an analyst at market research, analysis and advisory company IDC.

Supporters of blockchain are especially keen to address salmonella and other food safety problems that can cause health scares that weigh on corporate reputation and damage sales.

The technology allows a more efficient response if there is a problem, enabling companies to locate the source of an incident more quickly, said Yiannas.

The other great virtue of blockchain is enhanced transparency by letting consumers look up key information on where food comes from, an asset amid concerns about genetically-modified crops and artificial ingredients.

That additional transparency also can help promote more desirable practices. AFP