Topco Associates, the largest American retail food group purchasing organization, along with member grocery chain, Food City, will pilot Mastercard’s blockchain blockchain-based Provenance Solution in its operations.
According to a recent press release, Topco will test the traceability platform which was developed by logistics firm Envisible, and use the platform to trace the provenance of produce, meat and seafood.
This is not the only use of blockchain technology within the food industry, as major American retailer Walmart began using blockchain technology to track Indian shrimp supply chains earlier this month. This is reportedly the first time that the technology has been used to track shrimp from the country. Walmart China also started tracking food through its supply chain with VeChain’s Thor blockchain in June. Further to this, in August, Switzerland’s largest supermarket chain and retailer Migros announced that it would use TE-Food’s blockchain-based food traceability system for its products.
Dan Glei, Executive vice president, Merchandising and Marketing for Food City, stated that:
“Using Envisible Wholechain, powered by Mastercard, our grocers will be able to stock shelves with confidence and also be able to pinpoint issues in the food chain during any unfortunate events such as recalls,”
Alex Manders, the head of blockchain solutions at Information Services Group (ISG), reinforced the significance of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in keeping up with such rapid technological advances in the industry and implored that clear regulatory guidance is a necessity in order to manifest this technology effectively and efficiently within food supply chains.
Comments