The role of technology in crisis management/recall in food supply chains

Abstract

This chapter considers the advances in governance and how this frames crisis management and product recalls in food supply chains. Effective food recalls following a food safety or legality related incident are supported by traceability systems that range from being paper based to those that apply the newest technology. This chapter is written to consider the value of Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs) for the improvements in food supply chain governance structures that are especially tested during product recalls. The focus is on identifying advantages of Blockchain systems within public-private partnerships (PPPs) for food governance. There is a great potential to reduce information asymmetry, which is a key barrier to supply chain development, innovation and efficiency, and effective crisis management and product recalls with the use of DLTs including Blockchain. PPPs for supply chain governance can deliver value at the supply chain and wider stakeholder level including developing Blockchain consortia to improve overall efficiency and integrity in data collection, storage and sharing.