Nestle and Carrefour, the two food giants, teams up to track infant milk products with blockchain and provide consumers with data on their origins and movements “from dairy to shelf”, as the two companies are based on IBM’s Food Trust platform  

On November 14 (Thursday), Carrefour said that the GUIGOZ Bio 2 and 3 infant milk ranges will be recorded on the blockchain platform as a means to provide consumers with more information on the milk origins and transparency on product checks.

However, customers will be able to scan a QR code on the milk’s packaging to access a range of information.

The firm said:

“Blockchain technology enhances transparency and advances the food transition for extremely high-quality products, which parents expect for infant nutrition. For Nestle and Laboratoires Guigoz, this innovative blockchain technology creates a new benchmark for transparency and the high standards of care required to ensure the quality of their products.”

Likewise, such schemes may have an element of marketing, there’s no doubt that breakdowns in food safety, such as China’s melamine-adulterated milk scandal and the more recently reported Polish distribution of diseased meat have raised concerns over what they are being fed.

Other major firms like Cargill and Walmart which have moved to utilize blockchain technology, can ease those concerns, in theory, providing consumers with immutable proof that their food comes from where it’s supposed to and has not been adulterated along the way.

Thus, in February 2019, Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, called for increased use of data technologies such as blockchain in the EU, in part to address concerns over food traceability.

Source: theguardian.com | coindesk.com