Blockchain In Food Industry: How This Technology Driving Growth
When blockchain first began to evolve, experts only anticipated that it was limited to the financial sectors. But with time, this technology started to push for adoption in several industries beyond finance. At this time, the food industry seems to be one of the most associative destinations for the blockchain. Blockchain in food industry has received immense appreciation in recent times.
Over the last few years, several food business players are declaring their very own blockchain initiative. Along with that, in 2019, this technology began to disrupt the sector at a rapid pace. As per research, over 20 percent of the top global firms will use this technology by 2025. So this implies that the application of blockchain in the food supply chain will rise in the upcoming years.
What makes blockchain technology so interesting and appealing that the food industry giants are adopting their own solution? In this article, we will see how crucial this technology is for the food sector and how it can redesign the future of food.
Blockchain In Food Industry: Primary Issues Of This Sector
There are several issues related to the food sector. Even though this sector is huge, still if the issues are not solved effectively, they can crash the ecosystem. So let us see the importance of blockchain technology for the food industry.
Lack Of Product Traceability
Tracking food products is a big problem as most of the entities seem to be reluctant in this scenario. With effective tracking in place, users do not have any clue on how or what way the food was being processed. In general, no users are interested in healthy and organized elements more than ever. So they are overprotective about every single thing they are consuming.
But if the products or the processes are not tracked by the food companies, how will they meet the quality? The problem here is that tracking the process or food from the suppliers to the users requires added investment. Hence, many entities are not that eager to spend extra money than they require on this.
Changing Regulations
In reality, the food and beverage sector falls under government regulations. So many organizations, like FDA, EPA, FFTC, and OSHA are operating diligently to maintain several norms associated with food labels, hygiene, and healthy products.
In most scenarios, the entities follow all the regulations completely. However, in several miscommunications, the sector ends with poor quality food, a surplus of raw materials, and wastage of food. Because of the nature of changing rules, many entities have to recall their latest products as the latest rules were not in sync with their items. So in the end, they end up losing valuable time and money.
Complication In Inventory Management
Inventory management in the food sector is a bit complex as the food items have expiration dates. So the handling of these products is more severe in comparison to other sectors. More so, for maintaining hygiene, they are required to constantly monitor the scenarios of the storage facilities. However, monitoring manually does not require a lot of time.
Along with that, the businesses are not properly equipped to manage the management in times of seasonal demands. So, the sector ends up with a complex inventory, which leads to wastage of food and loss of money. So, at various times, the shipments arrive late or they can also send wrong items that have shorter shelf lives.
Generational Demands
Well, the demand for food does depend from generation to generation. Not every generation has the same taste in beverages or food. Hence, it becomes quite difficult to keep up with all the issues at the same time. In general, the entities have to cater to six big generations, beginning from babies to the elderly. They can generate information based on the preferences of the consumers, but there are not many tools out there to sort it out efficiently.
Hence, businesses can outline the basic demands of their consumers, but there is lots of room for evolution. Sometimes because of the lack of effective measures, they can miscalculate and raise the production of low demanded items.
Lack Of Transparency In Labeling
Well, this is among the most important reasons for which there should be the adoption of blockchain in food and beverage industry. Even though it is some scenario, companies do tend to be honest about the ingredients that they use in manufacturing. But in most scenarios, they are misled by the data offered in the label.
Poor Food Safety
Well, this is among the most pressing problems in the food sector. In reality, even small misconduct or mishandling of food ingredients can lead to contamination. And we do not have to tell you the results of that. Unfortunately, the food sector is still not ideal to track down the actual source of the contamination. In most scenarios, it can even go unnoticed until it is too late.
It is a matter of public health and is also a serious crime. Just for a small problem, the entity can lose all of its repute, pay heavy fines, and can even close down. Also, in the present time, users are skeptical about most of the things they purchase. So, small contamination can end up massively for you and also your company.
Growth and Operations Of Blockchain In Food Industry
The operation of blockchain in food industry is varied. Here are some of the most attractive use scenarios that you can witness in the blockchain. Here are some of the real-time applications of blockchain in food industry.
- Improving Food Traceability: Blockchain in the traceability of food can change the scenario for everyone. This technology is completely equipped to manage the tracing of the food from the suppliers to the users who purchase it.
- Ensuring Safety Of Food: Blockchain in the safety of food can help users to be at ease and purchase all their products without taking any tension about the contamination or any problems.
- Food Industry Supplier Selection: Using blockchain in food supply chain can connect with better suppliers who can provide provenance of the quality offered by them. Blockchain technology offers food producers, distributors, and retailers detailed insights and data about fresh produce as it makes its way from seed to sale.
- Catering To Operational Demands: It is difficult to keep up with the demands of all users from all generations at the same time. But by using this technology, the companies can track each generation separately and cater to them separately without any hassle.
- Decreasing Wastage Of Foods: The businesses can begin to trace the foods to keep up with the health codes and follow all the guides and enhance their management mechanism. As they can track everything online, it is convenient to enhance efficiency and decrease food wastage to a minimum, even in real-time.
Final Thoughts
You have already understood by now that blockchain technology can provide a lot of advantages in the food sector. The food sector is filled with various issues, and without finding any proper solution, the users are at risk. Therefore the adoption of blockchain in food industry can help to discard most of the prevailing problems and ensure a healthier and better community in the future. The various food companies using blockchain include Tyson Foods, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Nestlé, Walmart, and many more.
