How Blockchain technology could transform the food industry?

The American company Dole Food Company launched a strategic plan where it includes the blockchain in its operations in the next five years for greater food security, as reported by Coindesk on April 24.

According to the publication, Dole aims to launch blockchain product labeling and other “advanced traceability solutions” in its three business divisions: tropical fruits, fresh vegetables, and other diversified products, in a bid to improve food security operations. By 2025.

In its sustainability report, the company shows a redesign of the food tracking system it distributes. For the company, the main thing is to improve the speed with which they can identify problems at some points in the supply chain during the removal of contaminated products, an aspect that they have worked to improve through the use of the IBM Foos Trust blockchain platform.

In the report, the company notes:

Blockchain reduces the average time required for food security investigations from weeks to seconds. Products that have been registered through the blockchain can be tracked instantly through the supply chain, giving confidence to retailers and consumers in the event of a recall.

Likewise, the report indicates that the distributed data can make investigations more agile and that these data will be used to inform customers.

The company’s intention is to launch blockchain systems for other products soon, which is why it has said it plans to make the supply chain visible with vegetable packages that can be scanned and provide product information “from farm to store”, something that is already The company has been making its supply chain for salad and fresh vegetables.

Its strategic plan for 2025 comes three years after the company began experimenting with distributed ledgers (DLT) as part of IBM’s food blockchain consortium. Dole appears to be ready to continue that partnership for at least the next five years, the source says.

The report highlights that the consortium members, Walmart and IBM, are working with Dole to demonstrate the potential of blockchain technology to “achieve a radical change in food security.”

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Blockchain for food security

One of the most common uses of blockchain technology is in food supply chains (1) since it offers transparency and generates confidence in the consumer by allowing them to know the process from its origin to the table.

IBM’s blockchain-based food traceability platform was launched in 2018 for global use by retailers, wholesalers, and suppliers across the entire food ecosystem. Another of the companies that work with this platform is the multinational Walmart.

Walmart has been testing IBM’s Food Trust blockchain platform, tracking berries, mangoes, and even baby food throughout the supply chain process.

After that, Walmart began requiring suppliers of green leafy vegetables to upload their production data to the blockchain to enable end-to-end traceability of the vegetables to the farm where they were grown.

Frank Yiannas, Walmart’s vice president in charge of food security, said at the time:

“This has been sent to dozens and dozens of providers. If you think about this food system, our suppliers will source from other suppliers and farms. We believe this will affect hundreds of food establishments. ”

For his part, Brigit McDermott, vice president of the IBM Food Trust, said: “I want everyone, as much as possible, to be in the same ecosystem so that everyone has access to the data they are authorized to see.”

The IBM Food Trust platform works to improve tracing within the food system, which can help researchers better identify sources of food contamination to enhance public safety.