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IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) is working with large food suppliers such as Dole and Dole to apply blockchain technology to the global food supply chain.
Blockchain technology can quickly track products from farm to store shelves.
The technology can determine when and where food is contaminated, which will help manufacturers and public health officials stop contagion.
IBM partners with Walmart and other companies to apply blockchain technology to global food supply chain
Some of the world's largest food companies believe blockchain will help food safety.
Dole, Tyson Foods and Nestle are working with IBM to develop blockchain technology that can be applied to food supply systems. The companies believe the technology will allow companies and policymakers to better track items in the global food supply chain. At the same time, Walmart, Unilever, and Kroger also participated in the project.
Frank Yunas, Walmart’s vice president of food safety, said in a statement: “Blockchain technology has ushered in a new era of transparency in the global food system. It gives all participants confidence in a strong network of trust to share information quickly. "
One of the problems these companies are trying to solve is food contamination. Generally speaking, it usually takes several months to determine when and where a product was contaminated. At the same time, large amounts of food may be thrown away because its safety cannot be confirmed, or people may become sick from eating contaminated food that is not traced.
Food manufacturers can use blockchain technology to solve two problems in the food supply system. In layman’s terms, blockchain is a comprehensive receipt of the world. In Bitcoin, blockchain technology is used to track individual Bitcoin tokens. Although Bitcoin transactions are anonymous, information about each transaction is permanently recorded.
When it comes to food supply, blockchain technology can be used to track all relevant information for a single or multiple groups of food. This makes it easy to find out where a given product is, or when it became contaminated in the supply chain. All this information can prevent large-scale outbreaks of foodborne illness.
Blockchain technology can be used to track the source of food contamination and prevent the spread of food illnesses, such as the salmonella outbreak caused by brand-name papayas.
Take, for example, the salmonella outbreak caused by famous brand papayas. According to statistics from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of August 16, a total of 173 people in 21 states in the United States were infected with Salmonella. While the CDC was able to determine the source of the contaminated papayas, not all shipments were traced or recalled, and infections continue.
However, if the transportation data of these papayas were recorded on the blockchain, this salmonella epidemic may have been stopped long ago. At the very least, records in the blockchain would make it easier to find out which shipments were infected and which ones were shipped. At the same time, the technology can also help companies and public health officials determine which communities may have been infected.
Currently, IBM is beginning to test this technology in Walmart's supply chain, which will allow Walmart to track all information about goods from farm to shelf. This tracking and locating process, which once took days or weeks to complete, now takes just seconds using blockchain technology.
标签： #Blocks #Food #Supply #Tracking #Contamination
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