The technology behind cyptocurrencies such as Bitcoin could revolutionise the food and farming industry by increasing its transparency from farm-to-fork.
The 'blockchain' could settle consumer concerns surrounding food transparency, as it would allow a record of all transactions that have taken place in the supply chain, according to certification provider Bureau Veritas.
It follows the release of figures which show that in 2016/17, the UK Food Standards Agency investigated 2,265 food contamination incidents – up 30% on the previous year.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that almost 1 in 10 people become ill every year from eating contaminated food, with 420,000 dying as a result.
To provide greater clarity to the issue, Bureau Veritas has launched a new white paper ‘Food traceability: The blockchain revolution’, detailing the current obstacles in food traceability, with recommendations on how to overcome these by utilising the latest advances in disruptive technology.
'Revolutionise'
Joy Franks, UK certification managing director at Bureau Veritas, said customer are increasingly demanding greater food transparency at the swipe of a finger, and blockchain technology could help achieve that.
“Inherently, the issue is complexity. A single product may go through six to eight stages of a supply chain before it ends up on shelves, making end-to-end traceability using current methods such as sampling nigh on impossible to achieve,” Ms Franks explained.
“As such, we need only look at the rising number of food safety breaches, which can often result in irreversible reputation damage to understand how blockchain technology can revolutionise the industry by increasing the reliability of information.”
'Recorded and confirmed'
As detailed in the white paper, blockchain is a ledger where transactions are recorded and confirmed, acting as a record of events that is shared between many parties.
In a food supply chain, for example, a failed test and inspection on a product at any stage of the supply chain will be automatically traced to the origin of the failure.
According to Bureau Veritas, adopting blockchain technology could transform how organisations manage food traceability by improving efficiency, eliminating duplication of reconciliation efforts and reducing the need for intermediaries.
Blockchain technology also monitors food supply chains because it is open to any participant and any type of information can be entered.
It also uses cryptography to protect commercially sensitive information as well as being able to use smart contracts - a set of automated rules governing a transaction - to provide extra security.
'Need for consensus'
Ms Franks said blockchain technology is an "exciting development" for the industry.
“Blockchain’s very advantages – the need for consensus, the immutability of data, the ability to use smart contracts and permissions – raise the stakes on getting the system right at the outset,” she said.
“As a result, it can increase the reliability of information, making complete traceability possible without any single all-powerful actor, or the presence of an independent third party at every transaction – making it a quicker, cheaper and more efficient process.
Ms Franks added: “Looking to the future, we see blockchain as becoming an integral part of the food supply chain mix and one which organisations should start making the most of now to bring food traceability into a new era.”
