Share and Enjoy !

Shares
Image Source Canva Pro

Is it possible to start your day with a completely safe cup of coffee made from unadulterated milk and coffee powder?  How do we check that the food we eat is safe, and ensure that it is free of harmful additives and adulterants? Is it even possible in the current regulatory system?

The WHO estimates that 1 in 10 people become ill every year from eating contaminated food, with 420,000 dying as a result. Our global food supply network is so complex that it has become almost impossible for food producers and retailers to guarantee the food safety of their products. Also, within the food supply chain between the farmer and the consumer, adulteration is a key safety issue.

Since the food we eat goes through many touch points before it comes to our plate, the FSSAI says that 1 in 5 samples of food tested by the public food safety labs in the country is “adulterated and misbranded.” It is important to build a food supply chain which can be reliably traced and blockchain technology can do that.

Blockchain Technology paving the Way!

In the year 2017, it’s hard to escape blockchain technology, it is transforming every industry. Blockchain technology was developed as a decentralised ledger which keeps a record of all transactions and stores it on a global network so that it prevents it being changed at a future point. Primarily built for financial implications, blockchains’ decentralised system has a huge potential for the traceability of food supply chains.

For food suppliers it means if anyone tampers with the food item in the food supply chain it can be immediately identified before the food ever reaches the retailer. For retailers, it implies that if by any chance a hazardous food product makes it to stores, it can can be identified and removed, thereby eliminating the need for costly batch recalls. For consumers, it offers them reassurance that the food they eat is exactly what the label says it is.

foodnetindia would like to see FSSAI using Blockchain technology in India where millions of people’s lives are at stake because of poor food safety issues on a daily level.

Sources:

http://www.business-standard.com/content/specials/making-the-food-we-eat-safer-with-blockchain-technology-116112500852_1.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogeraitken/2017/12/14/ibm-walmart-launching-blockchain-food-safety-alliance-in-china-with-fortune-500s-jd-com/#49e4bb187d9c

https://www.newfoodmagazine.com/article/36978/blockchain-food/

Leave a Reply