Walmart plans to sell green leafy vegetables that are monitored using blockchain technology within the next year.
In a press release published on Monday, the largest retailer in the world for both turnover and number of employees announced that it has informed its suppliers of green leaf products to integrate a blockchain-based tracking system developed in collaboration with IBM by September 2019.
According to the letter sent to suppliers, any company that collaborates with Walmart must work with the IBM Food Trust network to create end-to-end traceability in two phases. The blockchain platform will make it easier for Walmart to get any kind of food quickly, with the version in which it is noted that tracing such articles at the moment is "an almost insurmountable challenge".
The move comes on the heels of an outbreak of E. coli originating in Arizona at the start of this year. While the Center for Disease Control authorities warned consumers to avoid lettuce grown near Yuma City, Walmart Food Security Vice President, Frank Yiannas, noted that it is difficult for customers to confirm where exactly the crops were grown. their products.
He added in a statement:
"None of the salad bags had" Yuma, Arizona "on them In the future, using the technology we are requesting, a customer could potentially scan a bag of salad and know for sure where it came from."
The first phase of the roll-out will require that direct suppliers create a "one-step traceability" by the end of January. All the companies that have their own suppliers will therefore have until the end of September 2019 to integrate the network vertically.
"To help you meet this new Walmart business need, we worked closely with IBM and other food companies to create a low-cost blockchain-enabled tracking solution that meets our needs and creates shared value for the business. entire environment "The green farm continues at the table," says the letter.
As previously reported, in the past Walmart has applied blockchain to the use of food monitoring, in particular in an attempt to support the quality of pork products in China.
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