Albertsons, the second largest grocery chain in the U.S., has joined the IBM Food Trust blockchain-based network.

A lot of companies scoffed at cryptocurrency when Bitcoin and other coins began making waves a few years ago, but the underlying blockchain technology was something that interested them greatly. The existence of a distributed ledger network that is tamper-resistant offered a lot of promise across many industries, and many companies have worked hard to use that technology for their own benefit. One such company is IBM, which has created the IBM Food Trust network to track food distribution. Now a new partner has joined the network.

The Promise of Blockchain

Albertsons Companies is the second largest grocery chain in the United States, and it has joined the more than 50 other food brands that comprise the blockchain-powered IBM Food Trust network.

The goal of the network is to create a safer and more transparent food supply chain utilizing blockchain technology. One goal of the network is to enable instant and efficient food tracing from source to consumer, resulting in peak freshness of goods and reducing product loss.

Albertsons is a good fit with the network as it operates 2,300 grocery stores across the United States.

Tracking Food to Reduce Waste and Improve Safety

The IBM Food Trust is set to run a pilot program where it will trace bulk romaine lettuce from one of the distribution centers of Albertsons. If the pilot program is successful, the network will then be expanded to other food categories. The reason why romaine lettuce was chosen is due to the E. coli outbreak last year caused by contaminated romaine lettuce. Blockchain technology will allow for instantaneous tracking, allowing stores to quickly identify a contaminated supply and pull it from the shelves.

Anuj Dhanda, chief information officer at Albertsons Companies, says:

Blockchain technology has the potential to be transformational for us as we further build differentiation on our fresh brand. Food safety is a very significant step; blockchain traces the provenance of products. The ability to track every move of a food product – from the farm to the shopping cart – will be very empowering for our customers.

Raj Rao, general manager of the IBM Food Trust, adds:

Since first introducing IBM Food Trust, we have met a number of milestones that show the path toward transforming the end-to-end food system. Today, we are further scaling the network to bring blockchain-based traceability to an even wider cross-section of retailers, suppliers and end consumers. By working with the top retailers all over the world, IBM Food Trust is truly helping to provide a safer and more transparent food system for all.

One hurdle facing greater adoption for blockchain technology in the business world is the fear of losing a competitive edge by sharing data. This is a difficult hurdle to overcome, but one can see it being tackled for something like the food industry as governments may eventually require the use of blockchain technology to track food in order to improve public safety.

Images courtesy of Pixabay, Albertsons, and YouTube/IBMBlockchain.