Blockchain Technology and implementation are the two age-old concepts which keep the economic wheels working. In this era, the system which boosts cryptocurrency is being accomplished to document the origins of the food we consume. This technology will also help to track the contamination outbreaks.

Imagine if a technology offers you the overall history behind any product, right from its creating to the selling of that product, that too only by using your smartphone. Just by scanning the product you can access every single information.

There are the majority of techniques that firms are planning on how they can use blockchain technology incorporating the food industry. Today, the foods we consume are either fraud plague or seems with the false label on the products. The promise of a transparent food supply chain is all dropping off.

Walmart and IBM Investing in Blockchain Technology

The U.K based company- Provenance utilizes blockchain technology to support the food suppliers’ fight for their claims. However, there are many other organizations such as IBM and Walmart that are already implementing and investing in Blockchain technology. Some food safety experts are still dubious about its supreme viability.

Walmart has accomplished several pilots, including a trace-back exercise to test the time required to track the origins of mangoes package. Walmart and IBM were behind this new software, depending on the honest information.

Every participant in the food growing and distribution process were using the same collaborative blockchain software. This project was able to track the origins of the shipment in just a matter of time. This process made work simpler and project success.

Tracking the Food Origins

Blockchain has been enhancing the revamped record of transactions with every new implementation. This tech not only detects the origins of foods but also certifies their individual supplier information.

Provenance is the firm that works to verify whether the farm is under the independent owner or an organic certification. The company says, that they’re serving user better comprehend the food they’re consuming.

The founder of Provenance, Jessi Baker states that “blockchain can specify the entire story of the food we consume.”

The director of the Food Safety and Quality Program at McGill University, Lawrence Goodridge says that

Blockchain has potential promise, but the hype has to be differ from the facts. Hype has blinded many to the actual details that need to be ironed out before it is implemented. By the time we know of the outbreak, it has all been consumed, and there is nothing to recall.

Goodridge also states that while the lightning-effective mango test of Walmart might seem impressive, however, it doesn’t narrate the complications of a real-world food detecting, mainly with regards to contamination outbreak.

To know about an outbreak of public health officials, victims need to visit a doctor or hospital. However, many of them still do not prefer this, so we come to know about an outbreak some weeks or even months before occurring.

Some foods with very short shelf lives such as romaine lettuce have been a point of concern through an E.coli outbreak. As this takes months to trace back to its origins, and as the time of outbreak flows, it seems nothing can be the same as before.

Honesty at the Source

Goodridge believes, “till the contamination source exists, blockchain food tracing system will not be of any help.” He also adds:

What’s more, premise of a transparent record of origin requires that data input at the source is accurate and given the high rates of food fraud worldwide like sugary, watered down maple syrup, or tilapia posing as halibut there is little reason to trust that information recorded on blockchain is valid.

Nonetheless, the main hope lies in the identification of the source of an outbreak, so that blockchain technology can speed up the process to track the origin of the contamination. Additionally, due to its transparent nature, it would eventually push suppliers at every single step of the chain to be more accountable.

In fact, this will need all suppliers to invest in this blockchain solution, which is the biggest challenge to successfully implement the tracking system. After all, blockchain technology still remains comparatively new and yet to experiment at a level. Till date, many people still call it as the best technology that boosts up Bitcoin, which is a cryptocurrency.

This is a big challenge for blockchain food tracking to really operate as expected. However, it needs every individual like processors, growers, distributors, retailers, etc. to get on board.