Blockchain technology would allow the entire “chain” of a product to be traced. An innovation that responds to consumer requests for greater transparency.
Deciphering product labels on supermarket shelves is sometimes a matter of engineering. Where does the chicken I eat come from? How many kilometers have my vegetables traveled? Where were the olives planted for my oil? Questions that consumers are asking themselves more and more and to which they want transparent answers.
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Deciphering product labels on supermarket shelves is sometimes a matter of engineering. Where does the chicken I eat come from? How many kilometers have my vegetables traveled? Where were the olives planted for my oil? Questions that consumers are asking themselves more and more and to which they want transparent answers. The health crisis but also the urgency of climate change have upset the habits of consumers who have made health one of the main criteria for their purchases. At the same time, the challenges facing the food industry are enormous. Almost insurmountable. Increased production to feed the entire planet, evolution of demand towards healthy and organic products, gain in terms of competitiveness and productivity, reduction of waste, improvement of producer remuneration, etc. “Internationally many start-ups are working on the topic and are already developing solutions,” explains Harold Kinet, founder of Walchain, an initiative that brings together Wallonian blockchain start-ups and aims to promote the made in Wallonia in this area. . “Blockchain has unsuspected potential,” insists Harold Kinet. If the blockchain is mainly used in the financial sector, in games but also in art with NFTs, it could in fact prove to be an important ally for the food industry. How? Improving the supply chain, the supply chain, and therefore the transparency of the sectors. Mad cow disease, avian flu, salmonella… It must be said that the agri-food industry has not been spared in recent years and it is the entire sector that is feeling the effects of consumer distrust. Not all players are against it, but the need for transparency collides with the fact that brands and producers generally do not have the required information, due to the growing fragmentation of their supply chain. However, there is a direct link between the loss of trust, the lack of transparency and the lack of precise product lifecycle traceability. This is where blockchain can come into play. Breeders, producers, suppliers, distributors, etc.: the agri-food industry forms a complex ecosystem that brings together many players. “Blockchain technology is ideal for this use since it allows you to store but also transmit data in real time”, explains Daniel Penninck, CEO of block0, an IT company dedicated to blockchain and which is working to improve supply chain traceability and transparency . In the case of a chicken, for example, a multitude of actors are involved in its supply chain, which includes both farmers of laying hens and hatcheries responsible for the fertilization of eggs, free-range chicken farmers, slaughterhouses, retailers and even regulators who must be able to analyze all the data. “The problem often lies in the transmission of this data between each actor, summarizes Daniel Penninck. These are obviously already collected but are rarely digitized, which can be a source of error.” Not to mention that the means of transmission can vary from one actor to another and that between each link in the chain the lot of the product is renamed: fertilized eggs, for example, will not have the same code as those of chickens sold. – and it is therefore often difficult to have an overview of the entire supply chain. Conversely, blockchain technology ensures better traceability of products as it tracks interventions at each stage of the production and distribution of a given food. Weights, analysis results, compliance with recipes, etc.: these data are recorded in a digital register and make it possible to harmonize the transmission. Each block of data is in fact dated and connected to the one previously produced in the same chain. And before moving on to the next, the content of each block must be verified by users and validated. Therefore, all shared data cannot be modified or deleted by other actors in the chain, which makes them liable. A very secure system? “The chain cannot be manipulated but that does not prevent the original information from being manipulable”, tempers Olivier de Broqueville, visiting professor of marketing at the Leuven School of Management. As product recalls pose a huge threat to brands, both in financial and reputational terms, blockchain traceability remains an important ally: precise knowledge of the product lifecycle allows for quick identification of affected lots, improving responsiveness and reducing costs. With data transmitted in real time, for example, a break in the cold chain can be detected more quickly. For the consumer, the blockchain takes the form of a QR code on product packaging. Origin of the product, manufacturing condition, storage or kilometers travelled… In one scan, the end customer can also access all the information he wishes. “This technology combines consumers’ need for transparency with the limited time they have available for shopping, continues Olivier de Broqueville. For the end user, the most complicated work will have been done”. Downside: While consumers have gotten used to scanning their products via apps like Yuka, fewer of them do it via a QR code. “It’s not that the Belgians are less attentive to the origin of their products, but they are more resistant to technology,” explains Harold Kinet, CEO of Walchain. Olivier de Broqueville also points out the confusion that some may have between the blockchain and the reputation of cryptocurrencies, based on the same technology. Carrefour Belgium therefore recognizes that the habit is not yet rooted among its customers. “At the same time, we don’t make it a promotional tool,” Siryn Stambouli, cartel spokesman, blurs. However, the group is one of the forerunners of food distribution with blockchain technology. Already in 2018, in collaboration with IBM, the retailer launched the “transparent chicken” from Auvergne in France with a blockchain system detailing the entire supply chain. Since then, the company has extended the use of this technology to other sectors, in particular to Carrefour Quality Line products. “In Belgium, the group offers 73 Carrefour quality lines, 36 of which are Belgian, representing more than 300 references,” adds the spokesperson. Concretely, for each batch of grazed beef, consumers can check the origin of the animal, the GPS coordinates of the farms, discover the fattening and quality control practices implemented by the members throughout the production process. “We rely on Carrefour Quality Line products because these are partnerships with producers that allow us to easily trace the entire supply chain,” explains Gabrielle Chaumez, head of Carrefour Quality Line. Faced with the technology implemented by resellers, the CEO of block0 is still wary. “They have the power to impose their blockchain on the entire supply chain, observes Daniel Penninck. By scanning their QR code, there is no possibility to check the block tracking records, the tool is therefore not made available to the consumer to verify their statements. A criticism swept away by Carrefour who explains that it responds to specifications and simply simplifies information intended for the consumer. “We are still entitled to ask ourselves whether this is not just marketing,” insists the CEO of block0. But if Carrefour is l he only retailer to have invested in technology in Belgium, this is undoubtedly due “more to the size of the group’s market than to the advantages it represents”, analyzes Olivier de Broqueville.Error in deliveries, volumes not corresponding to the order… Thanks to control criteria, the consistency of the elements communicated between each actor is verified.” An opaque supply chain can require different weeks, confirms Daniel Penninck. With a blockchain, it’s a matter of a few minutes.” The proof with the example of this sliced mango, imported from Latin America, sold by Walmart. With the blockchain, the American giant was able to trace its origins in 2,2 seconds, compared to the previously required seven days, despite the presence in the supply chain of 16 producers, two packers, three brokers, two warehouse workers, etc. Another advantage, the consumer scans also allow the retailer to collect information on the buying habits of customers and measure the success of a product or a communication campaign. “Even if it remains anonymous”, said Gabrielle Chaumez. Optimization of the supply chain, improvement of transparency for the consumer, prevention of product recalls, etc.: this will succeed blockchain to bring together agribusiness and digital to become the new standard? The technology is still in its infancy in the food industry. “In Belgium it is a sector c he struggles to digitize,” confirms Harold Kinet…