The Blockchain technology die App has unlocked potential in many industries and is now turning its direction towards the food sector. It’s about to change transactions in the food industry and people are growing excited about what’s to come.
Crypto enthusiasts are now looking at the massive potential of blockchain-based system intercepting the food industry. Just imagine how efficient, transparent, and quick food tracking and delivery would be. There have been ongoing blockchain-based initiatives started by big players in the food and beverage industry like Starbucks, Carrefour, and Nestle.
Collaboration in the food industry has been steadily growing and accelerating. This is currently observed in 2019 and is bound to expand over the years or remarkably by 2025.
Transparency in Product Information
There are basically two gnawing problems today in the food sector which need to be addressed – trust issues and also transparency in product information.
More customers are now after not just the taste of food and beverages but also the health advantages that they get out of its consumption. It’s more than just what’s provided on the labels, but shoppers are now looking for more in-depth data about their food and beverages. The reason behind this is that more customers are now health-conscious and are requiring traceability, credibility, and transparency in food products and services.
These factors aren’t just important to the customers but more so for food agencies or providers because blockchain technology has the ability to collect data about food coming from different sources and provide a concrete and single view of all transactions. This quickly and efficiently screens the best suppliers that can provide high quality food items. This is very important especially in line of food safety.
Provide Real-Time Data
Every food and beverage company need real-time data and a blockchain-based food technology can help you get your facts straight. IBM’s Food Trust is a mainstream blockchain-based solutuon that provides a food-tracking system for Unilever, Nestle, Kroger, Dole Food, and Carrefour. This went live in October 2018 and the testing period accommodated millions of products from varied suppliers and relatilers with the Food Trust blockchain system.
Even the National Fisheries Institute or NFI is now working closely with IBM’s Food Trust for tracking seafood. Food Trust is continuously expanding and scaling the blockhain technology application for this.
Even the alcohol and beverage industry is catching up with the trend and Ailsa Bay will be announcing a release of a scoth whisky trackers using blockchain technology. Startbucks will also implement Azure Blockchain Service to track coffee production.
China’s food and beverage industry has also expressed interest in the blockchain technology which is intended to be used for quality assurange of food and drugs. In fact, Walmart China has announced 23 products that are ought to be tracked by their blockchain-based system.
Food Safety
The implementation of a blockchain-based technology is mainly geared towards ensuring food safety. In fact, there are now Tech companies like Buhler that introduced blockchain-based products – Laatu and Tubex Pro.
Laatu is geared towards reducing microbial food contamination while Tubex Pro is focused on provideing a scale system that is optimized to provide consistent flow of data. The Laatu ius able to kill around 99.999% of salmonella and at the same time maintain the nutritional value of the food.
This collaboration was set up specifically to fight off food contamination worldwide. The blockchain-based technology allows companies to track the presence of allergens in food and beverages.
Some challenges that the food industry would face in its blockchain adoption would be data recording issues because blockchains are immutable and food chains constantly change. Digitizing data is also a hurdle especially for farmers. Also, being able to provide product information and identification that the customers can understand is one issue that needs to be addressed.
