Carrefour launches the first “food blockchain” in Spain. The chicken reared without the use of antibiotics is one of the first items that will be monitored
Blockchain, the technology of storage and transmission of information that increasingly reaches more markets, will now be used to track the evolution of products such as chicken reared without antibiotics. This is possible thanks to the characteristics of this platform, which works to follow the trace of an item in all its stages of production, transformation, and distribution.
The objective of the project promoted by the French distribution chain Carrefour is to maximize the levels of food security for Spain citizens. Countries such as Taiwan and the United States have also conducted tests of this type in companies such as Walmart, which in 2016 started a meat traceability system from China.
Carrefour is a founding member of the IBM Food Trust platform. This company reported, through a press release, that it has the services of IBM and with the “collaboration” of a Galician company called Coren.
Jorge Ybarra, Carrefour Spain’s commercial Chief of Food, comments: “Becoming the leader in the food transition for all is the ambition of Carrefour, and the use of blockchain technology allows us to advance in the realization of this objective, since it responds a priority of the group: to guarantee consumers the traceability of our products with total transparency”.
The blockchain technology offers the possibility of accessing a secure database distributed in blocks which contain the historical record of all the actors involved in the chain of distribution, as well as their exchanges during the creation and distribution of a product. This particularity allows the information to be managed in a transparent and inviolable way when working with independent data.
In the specific case of the chicken camper, on its label, a QR code is included. It could be scanned through a smartphone. In this way, the consumer is able to know all the information related to the product, such as the chicken’s date of birth, the breeding mode, the location of the farm, the food received by the chicken, the packaging process or the date on which it has reached the Carrefour stores.
“It’s excellent for consumers because it responds to the need to offer them greater visibility on food safety, trust and health guarantee. The advantages over the product are the immediate accessibility to information, control, and efficiency. Finally, it’s good for suppliers, since it allows them to have a 360º view of the entire distribution process and to value the quality of the product”, says a part of the statement issued on Tuesday, November 20th.
The IBM Food Trust’s main objective is to implement a global food traceability standard in all links of the supply chains. The commitment of Carrefour in favor of the “food blockchain” will increase during the coming months because the company wants to apply this technique to other products to ensure its quality and origin, so the citizens’ food would be more careful and healthier.
By María Rodríguez
