In agro-food, Blockchain has been recently implemented in order to improve transparency. Blockchain raises great expectations of data decentralization and better efficiencyâcost ratio, integration speed, and data protection that appear as promises of gains in all areas. The fundamental assumption was that transparency prevents or reduces illegitimate forms of power. However, discussions are emerging about how digitization is likely to exacerbate power inequalities in food systems, as transparency can become tyrannical when it contributes to the proliferation of audits, evaluations, and assessment measures. The objective of this research is to contribute by providing knowledge about the implications of this digitization for farmers. For a first exploratory study, we conducted 53 interviews with actors of digitalization of agri-food, and we used 9 press releases, 3 webinars, and 1 article published in a specialized French journal. These materials evoke 12 different agro-food chains recently equipped with blockchain in France. From this pool of chains, we focused on four through in-depth analysis of interviews and literature readings using NVivo software. The first results highlight that the use of blockchain for transparency rarely delivers on its promises. Blockchain tends to centralize control since few actors have access to the distributed ledger, and the visibility brought to farmers, at the consumer level, tends to become a form of control. While blockchain seems to provide some benefits to producers, it raises the issue of overloaded technology and the problem of their data privacy.
The passage of a yield from the producer to the buyer is traced by a farming supply chain. A clear stage that permits organization members to farm together is a blockchain-based farming supply chain. This method eliminates the requirement for a centralized trusted authority, mediators, and business histories, growing production and security whereas sustaining extreme integrity, liability, and safety. According to the planned resolution, smart contracts are used to switch and handle all communications and dealings amongst all shareholders in the supply chain network. AgriBlockIoT is a block chain-based traceability key that comprises facts since IoT devices in the supply chain. It comprises an example of watching harvest from farmhouse to branch, as well as assessments of Ethereum and Hyperledger implementations.
Ricardo Borges dos Santos, Nunzio Marco Torrisi, Rodrigo Palucci Pantoni
Every consumer's buying decision at the supermarket influences food brands to make first party claims of sustainability and socially responsible farming methods on their agro-product labels. Fine wines are often subject to counterfeit along the supply chain to the consumer. This paper presents a method for efficient unrestricted publicity to third party certification (TPC) of plant agricultural products, starting at harvest, using smart contracts and blockchain tokens. The method is capable of providing economic incentives to the actors along the supply chain. A proof-of-concept using a modified Ethereum IGR token set of smart contracts using the ERC-1155 standard NFTs was deployed on the Rinkeby test net and evaluated. The main findings include (a) allowing immediate access to TPC by the public for any desired authority by using token smart contracts. (b) Food safety can be enhanced through TPC visible to consumers through mobile application and blockchain technology, thus reducing counterfeiting and green washing. (c) The framework is structured and maintained because participants obtain economic incentives thus leveraging itÂŽs practical usage. In summary, this implementation of TPC broadcasting through tokens can improve transparency and sustainable conscientious consumer behaviour, thus enabling a more trustworthy supply chain transparency.
Marouane El Midaoui, El Mehdi Ben Laoula, Mohammed Qbadou, Khalifa Mansouri
<p class="western" align="justify">Most of supply chain networks have encountered difficulties when trying to integrate all components and stakeholders (Customers, warehouse, transportation, and raw material production. Etc...), which make supply chain management system suffering from a lack of efficiency and transparency that make a steady increase in goodâs falsification and consumerâs disappointment. All information about goodâs production, storage and transportation should flow clearly during all stages of the supply chain by tracking and authenticating to avoid productâs contamination or fraud in the network. Current tracking IoT-based systems are built on top of centralized architecture and this leaves a gap for tampering and false information especially in urban area, but also the exsiting solutions cannot allow the information to be shared with authority or consumers. To effectively assess and assure traceability and transparency this paper propose an approach using a distributed ledger (blockchain) besides a configuable IoT-based system to take into account all needed data including specific case of urban area, with an opendata platform at the disposal of stockholders, authority and consumers.</p>
Blockchain technology has received significant attention from the food industry; however, due to the scarcity of successful Blockchain projects and sector-specific studies, a step-by-step approach for implementing Blockchain in food supply chains (FSCs) is still missing. A systematic literature review of 69 high-quality, peer-reviewed articles is utilized to capture Blockchain adoption drivers and barriers, applications, and implementation stages within FSCs. Current Blockchain issues such as scalability, regulations, privacy, and incentivization are identified as future research opportunities. Following innovation adoption theory, a three-stage conceptual framework for Blockchain implementation in FSCs is developed. The proposed framework is novel and is expected to benefit food chain managers in establishing the suitability of Blockchain for their organization and/or wider supply network. Identified influential factors, case examples, and implementation stages are expected to guide practitioners in developing a roadmap for adopting Blockchain in the food industry.
The world is facing an unprecedented socio-economic crisis caused by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). The virus is also spreading through the import and export food supply chains. The Chinese authorities have discovered the COVID-19 virus in various imported frozen meat packages. Traceability plays a vital role in food quality and food safety. The Internet of Things (IoT) provides solutions to overseeing environmental conditions, product quality, and product traceability. These solutions are traditionally based on a centralized architecture, which does not guarantee tamper-proof data sharing. The blockchain is an emerging technology that provides tamper-proof data sharing in real-time. This article presents a blockchain-enabled supply chain architecture to ensure the availability of a tamper-proof audit trail. This tamper-proof audit trail helps to make sure that all safety measures are undertaken to minimize the risk of COVID-19 and other bacteria, fungi, and parasites being present in the frozen meat supply chain.
The aim of the research is to discuss what challenges and problems Blockchain can solve in Supply Chain, and what is the future to come for the Supply Chain Management. Blockchain can be defined as a chain of the block that contains information. The technique is intended to timestamp digital documents so that it's not possible to backdate them or temper them. The blockchain is used for the secure transfer of items like money, property, contracts, etc. without requiring a third-party intermediary like bank or government. Once data is recorded in a blockchain, it is very difficult to change it. The implementation of Blockchain Technology can help organizations reduce order quantities, lower selling prices and reduce the target-inventory levels.
Sina Rafati Niya, Danijel Dordevic, Markus Hurschler, Sarah Grossenbacher · 5 authors
The heterogeneous nature of raw milk production, transportation, processing, transformation, and storage have been triggering concerns on the authenticity of dairy products. For the first time known, this work studied these concerns via interviews with consumers and producers of dairy products. Therefore, this paper introduces âNUTRIAâ as a decentralized dairy product Supply Chain Tracing (SCT) system, designed and implemented based on real-world observations of the Swiss dairy supply chain and conducted in collaboration with dairy producers. Based on these studies and to overcome deficits of traditional and centralized SCT approaches, NUTRIA enables an automated SCT via a Blockchain-based decentralized application. NUTRIA materializes a trusted and transparent SCT, which empowers the dairy value chain. Furthermore, results of the real-world evaluations of deployed approaches within NUTRIA are covered, including social aspects and risks.
Sara Heitlinger, Lara Houston, Alex Taylor, Ruth Catlow
The relationships that constitute the global industrial food system tend towards two dominant values that are creating unsustainable social and environmental inequalities. The first is a human-centered perspective on food that privileges humans over all other species. The second is a view of food as a commodity to be traded for maximum economic value, rewarding a small number of shareholders. We present work that explores the unique algorithmic affordances of blockchain to create new types of value exchange and governance in the food system. We describe a project that used roleplay with urban agricultural communities to co-design blockchain-based food futures and explore the conditions for creating a thriving multispecies food commons. We discuss how the project helped rethink algorithmic food justice by reconfiguring more-than-human values and reconfiguring food as more-than-human commons. We also discuss some of the challenges and tensions arising from these explorations.
Jamilya Nurgazina, Udsanee Pakdeetrakulwong, Thomas Moser, Gerald Reiner
The lack of transparency and traceability in food supply chains (FSCs) is raising concerns among consumers and stakeholders about food information credibility, food quality, and safety. Insufficient records, a lack of digitalization and standardization of processes, and information exchange are some of the most critical challenges, which can be tackled with disruptive technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, and distributed ledger technologies (DLTs). Studies provide evidence that novel technological and sustainable practices in FSCs are necessary. This paper aims to describe current practical applications of DLTs and IoT in FSCs, investigating the challenges of implementation, and potentials for future research directions, thus contributing to achievement of the United Nationsâ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Within a systematic literature review, the content of 69 academic publications was analyzed, describing aspects of implementation and measures to address the challenges of scalability, security, and privacy of DLT, and IoT solutions. The challenges of high costs, standardization, regulation, interoperability, and energy consumption of DLT solutions were also classified as highly relevant, but were not widely addressed in literature. The application of DLTs in FSCs can potentially contribute to 6 strategic SDGs, providing synergies and possibilities for more sustainable, traceable, and transparent FSCs.
Blockchain has been described as a breakthrough Information and Communication Technology having the potential to ensure safe, immutable and transparent information exchange between actors. This study attempts to foresee whether Blockchain will play an important role in traceability management and how this innovation is expected to change the agri-food sector's future, using a Delphi group discussion with experts. According to our results, blockchain is potentially recognised as a decentralised system able not only to harmonise safety and quality standards but also to reduce bureaucracy. Greater efficiency and reliability of the system would lead to the establishment and coordination of new supply chain relationships.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) initiated this report to assess the potential of blockchain technology in enhancing food traceability and safety within the UK food system. Motivated by the need for greater transparency, trust, and efficiency in food supply chains, the report builds on the FSAâs initial blockchain trials in meat processing plants. These early experiments demonstrated the feasibility of using distributed ledger technology (DLT) to securely record and share food chain data. The reportâs primary aim is to evaluate the lessons learned from these trials and to outline strategic next steps for broader implementation. Objectives include identifying technical, regulatory, and governance challenges, exploring stakeholder perspectives, and proposing a roadmap for integrating blockchain into existing food assurance frameworks. Through this work, the FSA seeks to inform future policy and innovation in digital food regulation.
In the last decades, numerous food scandals have attracted policy makers' interest and subsequently induced retailers to actively improve food safety. Blockchain technology allows consumers to track the flow of food products and reduce food fraud, such as counterfeiting, dilution, or adulteration. Using three experiments conducted with Austrian business students as well as an online convenience sample, we investigate how the traceability of food products impacts consumers' trust in the retailer and subsequently influences consumers' retailer choice. Our model further considers retailer familiarity and the disclosure of blockchain benefits as important moderators of the impact of blockchain-based traceability systems on trust in the retailer. The model was tested using ANOVA, ANCOVA, and Hayesâ PROCESS models. In terms of fostering consumer trust, the findings show that retailers who are unfamiliar to consumers profit more from the use of blockchain technology than do better-known retailers. Moreover, informing consumers about specific blockchain benefits strengthens the positive effects of a blockchain-based traceability system.
Open access
Food Supply Chain Traceability
Food Waste Reduction and Sustainability
Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification
Aaron M. Shew, Heather A. Snell, Rodolfo M. Nayga, Mary C. Lacity
Abstract Blockchain (BC) technology, defined as a shared information system to validate, secure, and permanently store transactions among multiple parties on a distributed ledger, presents many applications in agricultural and food industries. This study examines the application of BC in food traceability for beef in the United States using a choice experiment. Findings indicate that consumers value USDA certifications over BC traceability to guide their meat preferences. Our study suggests a number of industry implications, the most important of which suggests focusing business and consumer education on the value of product data, rather than on the value of the technologies that manage data.
This research summarizes the implementation of blockchain technology in the food and agriculture industry in Canada. Our research indicates that blockchain solutions are an existing and proven set of technologies. We also describe how blockchain based supply chain traceability information has many more benefits than its current use for food safety and product recalls. We recommend that costs for development of blockchain based solutions should also be distributed across stakeholders, and apportioned by the relevant industry associations. Our research indicates that adoption of blockchain technology in agriculture will achieve critical mass earlier when the industry applies a consortium approach, in a regulatory environment that is supported by government. This report also makes recommendations relevant to the integration of blockchain for end consumers of food.
Such a disruptive technology as the blockchain platform has a potential to provide value-added contributions towards multiple-disciplinary applications these days. Blockchain technology, considered as the second generation of the Internet in the digital age, has been applied in practice for various industry such as finance, healthcare, tourism, retailing, manufacturing, education, public sector, supply chains management, agri-food industry and so on. In which, supply chain operations, particularly agri-food management, becomes a prosperous beneficiary from blockchain technology. In the local context, Vietnam has been achieved the competitive advantages in agricultural production among the world in some agri-food products such as black peppercorn, cashew nuts, coffee, coconut, rice, and rubber. Furthermore, Vietnam is considered as one of pioneers in implementing blockchain technology for traceability and transparency of agri-food products across Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. However, design and implementation of the blockchain technology application in agri-food production in the case of Vietnam agriculture industry have been confronted with opportunities and challenges, besides its strengths and weaknesses in nature. This paper aims to concentrating on the analysis of Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) of blockchain-applied supply chain relevant to agri-food products. In addition, the application of blockchain technology in supply chains has been expected to promote the sustainable development of Vietnam agriculture, in the accordance with the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the 21st century. We adopt the research method of interpretive approach to synthesize the literature and reasonably induce research conclusions. We finally prescribe some policy recommendations and implications for agri-food stakeholders such as regional policy makers, agri-food based blockchain platform designers, executives, and farmers as users in relevant to facilitate the blockchain technology for agri-food chains in Vietnam agriculture.
Establishing a blockchain food traceability system (BFTS) is increasingly important and urgent to resolve the contradiction between consumers' intention regarding safe food selections and the spread of polluted foods. Using the advantages of blockchain, such as immutability, decentralization, openness, and anonymity, we can build trusted food traceability systems based on these important characteristics. With reliable information, traceability from production to sales can effectively improve food safety. In this research, multiple models, namely, the information success model (ISS) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) are formed into a conceptual integrated framework to study the intentions' influenced factors of BFTS technology for Chinese consumers to help ensure food safety and the quality of Chinese organic food products. A face-to-face questionnaire survey with 300 valid responses was analyzed by Partial Least Square from the Chinese consumers focusing on the organic food products. This study found that the attitude and perceived behavioral control qualities significantly and positively affect the usage intention in adopting BFTS, while the subjective norms are positively but not significantly correlation with the usage intention in using BFTS. The above results will inform suggestions for productors and academics along with implications to promote BFTS' usage intention.
Isti Surjandari, Harman Yusuf, Enrico Laoh, Rayi Maulida
Abstract Halal Supply Chain Management requires an assurance that the entire process of procurement, distribution, handling, and processing materials, spare parts, livestock, work-in-process, or finished inventory to be well documented and performed fit to the Halal and Toyyib. Blockchain technology is one alternative solution that can improve Halal Supply Chain as it can integrate technology for information exchange during the tracking and tracing process in operating and monitoring performance. This technology could improve trust, transparency, and information disclosure between supply chain participants since it could act as a distributed ledger and entitle all transactions to be completely open, yet confidential, immutable, and secured. This study uses a Blockchain Network with three channels and uses raft consensus algorithm in designing web interfaces and testing their capabilities. From the web interface, there were no failures in the validity test during the invoke test and the query test. In addition, the web interface was also successfully tested to thwart the formation of a block in case of data input errors from the user. The server can also do the process as a provider of information and validator for the web interface. From the results of simulations conducted on the Blockchain Network that was made, Blockchainâs transaction speed is fast and all the transaction is successfully transferred to other peers. Thus, Permissioned Blockchain is useful for Halal Supply Chain not just because it can secure transactions from some of the halal issues, but the transaction speed and rate to transfer data are very effective.
Ralph Kwadwo Osei, Marco Medici, Martin Hingley, Maurizio Canavari
<abstract> This study investigates the attitudes and perceptions of businesses and consumers towards the application of Blockchain technology (BCT) to fresh produce supply chains. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups (FG) were performed with fresh produce company managers and consumers, respectively. The fresh produce sector, in this context, concerns the fresh and chill chain, value-added vegetables, fruits and salads and the ingredients of these used in further food value-added processes and products. A total of five themes were identified as factors influencing BCT adoption: the novelty of the technology, supply chain characteristics, open data issues, cost-benefit analysis, and role of public stakeholders. From these, twelve sub-themes were developed and discussed. Findings provide a framework with opportunities and challenges that the fresh produce system must face in adopting decentralised systems for managing supply chain data like BCT. </abstract>