Industry, Data Management and Existing Challenges
In today’s world, various industries require data management to control the quality of their products. These data are sourced from three main points: raw material suppliers, production lines and the consumers. In the past, data management was centralized in physical files, but with advancements in technology, it became possible to store information digitally. However, two factors -how information providers engage and how data security is maintained -have created challenges in this area. The issues with these systems arose from the accumulation of data in one location and the potential for changes due to security breaches.
The Emergence of Blockchain
Since the mid-2010s, the concept of blockchain, or a chain of blocks, has gained attention. Although the concept dates back to before 2000, it became widely recognized with the introduction of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. In short, with this technology, transaction data collected over a specific period is stored in an information block and protected from alterations through continuous encryption. Another key feature of this technology is the distribution of information across the network (nodes), known as a decentralized ledger. To achieve this, once an information block is formed, it is encrypted and made available to all nodes. Ultimately, after majority approval, the ledger is updated. These features have made blockchain technology prominent in cryptocurrency financial networks, given the sensitivity of financial markets.
Food Safety: A Constant Challenge
Food safety, or preventing health risks to consumers, is a core and essential aspect of the food industry. Safety must be controlled at every stage, from raw material production to shelf display in stores. Various groups, including raw material producers, raw material transporters, ingredients suppliers, packaging suppliers, wholesalers, and retailers, are involved in this process. The food industry consists of a range of key players who must provide necessary data to verify the safety and quality of each raw material and product. In such a system, contamination in any of the raw materials or product packaging, jeopardizes the control measures in other parts of the process. This creates the need for not only controlling the flow of materials but also for precise and rapid contamination tracking.
Decentralizing Safety Control with Blockchain
Currently, centralized systems are used to register information about raw materials entering production lines and product characteristics. As mentioned, centralized systems face challenges with data registration, and in the worst cases, deliberate data manipulation to eliminate contamination tracking. Additionally, in these systems, suppliers cannot directly participate in data registration or validation. Blockchain technology, with its shared nature, security, accessibility, and, most importantly, transparency in recording data and transactions, can provide a suitable platform for creating a wide network between different sectors of the food production chain. This network can register and share essential information between production, processing, distribution, oversight, and rapid-response sectors, aiming to prevent significant damage due to unsafe consumption prevention. Moreover, continuous, immutable data registration in the ledger makes risk tracking easier and helps contaminated resources collecting quickly to prevent further harm. For example, consider a dairy product supply chain from farm to shelf. In this chain, one of the nodes -typically the production unit- would register information about antibiotics contamination of the milk from a farm. In this case, registering the milk’s information on the blockchain and sharing it between units would prevent the contaminated milk from entering another unit.
