Why Blockchain Is So Important To The Food Industry

Under Walmart’s leadership, Nestlé SA, Dole Food Co., Driscoll’s, Golden State Foods, Kroger Co., McCormick, McLane Co., Tyson Foods and Unilever are building a digital tracking system that will change our food world.

Last week at Groceryshop I led a talk on IoT and blockchain. One of my panel members was Walmart’s vice president of food safety Frank Yiannas and arguably one of the most important voices on blockchain.

They are creating an electronic verification network in real-time for every single food product in the trust. Here is how it works. It is a digital ledger system that is permanent and can’t be altered.

Every time a verified event occurs, a block is created on the chain. Hence the name, and it is viewable by everyone. 

In an era of waning consumer confidence in our food supply and climate change that is having a major effect on food security, these ten companies are establishing this “trust” to repair our system. We need to prevent food borne illness outbreaks and the ones that do occur, we need to find the source faster. The recent hurricane in the Carolinas has created a food safety nightmare with the destruction of pigs and chickens that have created bacteria laden water and soil that will have disastrous consequences on our crops from the area. We may never be able to control the weather, but we can better control its consequences.