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Today, people increasingly discriminate against the foods they consume. They are concerned about making their healthy food choices. Therefore, regulators are rightly concerned about the growing incidence of product adulteration in the food supply and the time taken to detect the source of the outbreaks and respond effectively.
Although today’s global food supply chain has made it possible to bring food around the world, the biggest challenge facing the food industry is to ensure food safety, reduce food fraud and at the same time keep operating costs low.
In reality, the food that people consume and buy from the market is highly insecure than one might imagine. Food fraud is projected to be a $ 40 billion a year problem and there are some instances of fraud that often occur in the food supply. For example, the wood chips discovered in Parmesan cheese during the 2013 scandal or horse meat in the UK and the Chipotle E. coli outbreak in 2015. There are many such examples that have shown that the chain of food supply is not as secure and has a direct impact on the health of consumers and food companies a large lawsuit.
The World Health Organization predicts that one in 10 people get sick every year from consuming contaminated food. The Center for Disease Control estimates that around 48 million Americans get sick each year from contaminated food.
Due to recalls or lost sales, their financial impact can exceed $ 100 million. Despite this, preventing scandals and huge fines, making supply chain information more reliable is becoming a challenge for the industry.
Supply chain challenges
Modern supply chains have quickly become sophisticated and their effect on the competitiveness of most companies is a crucial factor to consider. The risks involved in a supply chain are associated with its interconnected nature.
Deloitte’s 2013 Global Supply Chain Risk Survey unveiled the direct impacts and causes of risks and challenges.
• Ineffective management of supply chain risk
• Erosion of margins and sudden demand
• Insufficient end-to-end visibility
• Ripple effect due to extended value chain
• Outdated technologies
There is no silver bullet for food industry problems. But the powerful combination of blockchain and Internet of Things (IoT) technology could address the root causes. It is essential to understand the strengths and limitations of these technologies before understanding how these technologies can work together.
Continuity of information
Effective sharing of information between the different stakeholders associated with the global supply chain will be crucial to ensure traceability and minimize inherent risks.
Detection of fraud and violations of the code of conduct
The obligation to ensure respect for human rights and codes of conduct along the chain is necessary to reduce reputational risk. Effective fraud detection processes supported by appropriate technologies will be increasingly important to minimize business risks. The transparent and verifiable features of the blockchain can enable them.
Transforming the food industry with IoT and Blockchain
The combination of these two technologies can potentially save the food industry more than $ 31 billion over the next five years. It is primarily aimed at saving from the fight against food fraud (i.e. improperly selling chicken as approved by animal welfare), but there are other benefits.
Better sensors would minimize food waste by increasing the total amount of food hitting store shelves. Fewer, smaller and cheaper recalls could also generate savings. Although blockchain / IoT technologies are still in their infancy, numerous ways can be implemented.
Access to information
Fast and transparent blockchains will offer the necessary access to information in the future to effectively leverage the large amount of data produced along the supply chain.
Growth in the global food supply chain is likely to bring more complexities and challenges, as well as great opportunities. If businesses can proactively implement rigorous security measures, embracing technologies such as Blockchain and IoT that enable clear visibility, track and trace, and integrate more closely with their partners, can bring huge benefits to the entire industry.
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