How Block Chain Technology Is Being Implemented in the Food Safety Industry
By Louis Corso, President USuggestit, Inc.
When you think of Block what is the first thing that comes to mind? Usually, it is some form of crypto-currency. However, you may not realize that Block Chain Technology has a life outside of crypto-currency trading. In fact, Block Chain Technology has promised to solve issues ranging from crypto-currency trading to tracking shipments of food from the ground to the table, from origin to the shelf of your supermarket. The application of Block Chain Technology is particular good when it comes to logistics and it has the potential to disrupt the supply chain where many of the processes today are done with pen and paper. So, what exactly are we tracking, what information should be tracked, when will it be implemented and what are its benefits?
A Use Case
Let’s look at a use case. Your supermarket has received a shipment of produce. Not only has your supermarket received the produce, but all supermarkets in the area, region and in many parts of the country have received the same produce. Several customers have complained that they got sick from the produce they purchased from your store. What do you do first? Track the product, get all of the details and prepare to find out what happened before you take your next step? You want to be cautious, so do you pull the product off the shelf? What if it was not that product? How can you verify it was that particular product?
The Benefits
Currently, it can take a supermarket several people, several days or more to track and get all the details around a product like a leafy green. Through the use of Block Chain Technology it can take one person several seconds. 1 That is a huge time savings and time is money and ROI can be easily calculated. Knowing you can track a problem back to origin means you can address the issue quicker, help the customer get valuable information and remedy the problem faster. Take into account the recent problem with e-coli tainted romaine lettuce that has affected 16 states and parts of Canada starting in October 2018. Since October 2018 up to December 2018, 62 people have reported illnesses, 25 of which were hospitalized and 2 of which developed further complications. As of January 9, 2019 no other cases have been reported and the outbreak appears to be over.8 Getting information regarding the details of the product can mean you can get to the heart of the matter faster and that is good business.
When Will It Be Implemented?
How many companies can put the technology in place and how many producers will utilize Block Chain Technology? Walmart has already started a program with IBM specifically to add Block Chain Technology to leafy greens that will land on their store shelves as well as in their Sam’s Club stores. Producers must upload their data into the block chain by September 2019 to be part of the distribution channel. If not, it is very simple, you will not do business with Walmart.1 Next step, expand the program to 100 more companies. Will Block Chain Technology be a distinguishing factor for customers the same way that organic or sugar free or fat free has been or will it be an even bigger disrupter? Or, will it be a distinguishing factor for supermarkets when deciding where they will source their products, perhaps both. Businesses see transparency as key to grow their customer base and to retain existing customers.
What Would You Choose?
If you had a choice to eat a meal where you knew where, when and how all of the ingredients were sourced vs. just some of the ingredients vs. none of the ingredients and there was a slight price difference, which meal would you choose to eat? Leafy greens, all produce for that matter, fish, poultry and beef, all of which can be traced from source to table. There is not a product on a store shelf that cannot or should not be traced back to origin and all stops in between. Again, if given the choice to choose between three meals which would you choose? My guess is it will be the meal that has full traceability.
Conclusion
There is a tremendous amount of information regarding Block Chain Technology and its use in the food safety industry. My guess is that it is only a matter of time before full implementation and full adoption is a reality and you and I will be making decisions on what we eat based on traceability. How long it will take will depends on how much supermarkets and restaurants value their customers and customers push for full transparency.
USuggestit, Inc. has developed a platform designed to help brands engage and interact with consumers to generate brand awareness and to capture their evolving desires in real-time. Contact Louis Corso at Louis.corso@usuggestit.com Phone: 917-207-9916 in U.S.
Brands: suggestionlab.com
Consumers: usuggestit.com
References
1 https://cointelegraph.com/news/walmart-requires-certain-produce-suppliers-to-deploy-blockchain-technology
2 https://www.forbes.com/sites/jennysplitter/2018/09/30/what-can-blockchain-really-do-for-the-food-industry/#62a0ce29488e
3 https://medium.com/insolar/how-blockchain-technology-will-transform-grocery-retail-7eaaf5fa405a
4 https://www.coindesk.com/ibm-food-supply-chain-blockchain-carrefour-live-production
5 https://www.forbes.com/sites/samantharadocchia/2018/04/26/3-innovative-ways-blockchain-will-build-trust-in-the-food-industry/#1a28bbaf2afc
6 https://www.ibm.com/blogs/blockchain/category/blockchain-in-food-safety/
7 https://cointelegraph.com/news/major-swiss-stock-exchange-six-to-launch-new-blockchain-powered-digital-exchange
8 https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2018/o157h7-11-18/index.html