Bitcoin Global News (BGN)
April 17, 2019 -- ADVFN Crypto NewsWire -- Blockchain
technology shows strong promise for drastically increasing
efficiencies for supply chain management. In regards to food, these
benefits could prove to do more than just save money, but save
lives as well. By integrating physical technology such as RFID
tags, new technologies will bring the consumer a level of
transparency not yet seen in the industrial food system. This has
two major benefits: reducing food waste, and increasing food
safety.
“We are doing work in every single
industry, and I learn something new every day, but one of the most
exciting areas is our focus on food safety and ending food waste
with the ultimate goal of alleviating world hunger. Every
improvement you make in shelf life, traceability and prevention of
disease helps to address the roughly 30% waste in the food supply
chain. Can you imagine how many people you could feed with that
extra food?” - Marie Wieck
IBM’s Food
Trust
Last fall, IBM officially launched
their blockchain based food supply chain management program to the
public after 18 months of testing. This is just one of IBM’s many
blockchain related endeavors. Two other notable actions by IBM are
developing and implementing their own inhouse stablecoin for
settling transactions, and joining Maersk shipping company to lead
the way in an attempt to bring together the global shipping
industry for a blockchain based systems upgrade.
Blockchain based technologies are
still viewed in many instances for “hype” or more for marketing
purposes than real-world applications. But IBM continues to prove
that the technology is worth pursuing. Most recently, Albertsons
Companies has joined the IBM Food Trust, a digital system for
tracking and tracing food between retailers and suppliers.
Albertsons is the world’s second-largest supermarket company by
sales ($57 billion in sales in 2017). They operate over 2,300
stores in the U.S. which includes other chains such as Safeway,
Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, and Acme.
The Food Trust has been joined by
other major companies such as Carrefour, Walmart, Nestle, Dole
Food, Tyson Foods, Kroger and Unilever. As nearly the 80th major
corporation to join the Food Trust, the first step for Albertsons
will be a pilot program focusing on suppliers of romaine lettuce.
This product has been involved in numerous outbreaks of E-coli,
hospitalizing 96 people recently, including five deaths.
“I truly believe there’s power in
numbers. Now all those big companies can come together and ask
suppliers to come on the platform. We always had technology in
supply chain but now with all the data you can gather the potential
is there to take it a step further.” - Rucha Nanavati, group vice
president for IT at Albertsons
By: BGN Editorial Staff