The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) will use blockchain in the food sector. The watchdog conducted a successful pilot using a distributed ledger technology for meat inspection. According to the press release, ‘the first time blockchain has been used as a regulatory tool to ensure food compliance in the food sector’.
The test system tracked meat produced by an unnamed slaughterhouse, providing improved transparency throughout the supply chain. Both, the slaughterhouse and the FSA monitored the data presented during the test.
The head of Information Management Sian Thomas said in a statement that his agency believes that blockchain technology can add real value to a part of the food industry.
“Our approach has been to develop data standards with industry that will make theory reality and I'm delighted that we've been able to show that blockchain does indeed work in this part of the food industry. I think there are great opportunities now for industry and government to work together to expand and develop this approach,” he said.
A further pilot is planned for July. It ‘will give permission to farmers to access data about animals from their farm.’
Various projects use technology to track food supply chains. VeChain was launched in 2016 to facilitate the creation and management of data on products and goods in supply chains, making the process more transparent. The platform allows users to send cash on a peer to peer basis, while monitoring and tracking agriculture, retail, auto and information on other sectors using its public ledger. VeChain gives retailers and consumers the ability to determine the quality and authenticity of products.
By Ekaterina Ulyanova