Food Engineering logo
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • TOPICS
  • EXCLUSIVES
  • MEDIA
  • FOOD MASTER
  • EVENTS
  • RESOURCES
  • EMAGAZINE
  • SIGN UP!
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • NEWS
  • Latest Headlines
  • Manufacturing News
  • People & Industry News
  • Plant Openings
  • Recalls
  • Regulatory Watch
  • Supplier News
  • PRODUCTS
  • New Plant Products
  • New Retail Products
  • TOPICS
  • Alternative Protein
  • Automation
  • Cannabis
  • Cleaning | Sanitation
  • Fabulous Food Plants
  • Food Safety
  • Maintenance Strategies
  • OEE
  • Packaging
  • Sustainability
  • More
  • EXCLUSIVES
  • Plant Construction Survey
  • Plant of the Year
  • Sustainable Plant of the Year
  • State of Food Manufacturing
  • Top 100 Food & Beverage Companies
  • MEDIA
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • White Papers
  • EVENTS
  • Food Automation & Manufacturing Symposium and Expo
  • Industry Events
  • RESOURCES
  • eNewsletter
  • Custom Content & Marketing Services
  • FE Store
  • Government Links
  • Industry Associations
  • Market Research
  • Classified Ads
  • EMAGAZINE
  • eMagazine
  • Archive Issue
  • Advertise
Food Engineering logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Food Engineering logo
  • NEWS
    • Latest Headlines
    • Manufacturing News
    • People & Industry News
    • Plant Openings
    • Recalls
    • Regulatory Watch
    • Supplier News
  • PRODUCTS
    • New Plant Products
    • New Retail Products
  • TOPICS
    • Alternative Protein
    • Automation
    • Cannabis
    • Cleaning | Sanitation
    • Fabulous Food Plants
    • Food Safety
    • Maintenance Strategies
    • OEE
    • Packaging
    • Sustainability
    • More
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Plant Construction Survey
    • Plant of the Year
    • Sustainable Plant of the Year
    • State of Food Manufacturing
    • Top 100 Food & Beverage Companies
  • MEDIA
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • FOOD MASTER
  • EVENTS
    • Food Automation & Manufacturing Symposium and Expo
    • Industry Events
  • RESOURCES
    • eNewsletter
    • Custom Content & Marketing Services
    • FE Store
    • Government Links
    • Industry Associations
    • Market Research
    • Classified Ads
  • EMAGAZINE
    • eMagazine
    • Archive Issue
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!
Manufacturing News

Manufacturing News

Blockchain Food Safety Alliance will enhance food safety in China

Alliance will use blockchain technology to track and trace

IBM Blockchain
Blockchain technology can be used to improve food traceability by providing trusted information on the origin and state of food. Pictured is a crate of oranges being scanned as part of a food safety blockchain.
February 12, 2018

Walmart, JD.com, IBM and Tsinghua University National Engineering Laboratory for E-Commerce Technologies are working together to form the Blockchain Food Safety Alliance. The group’s purpose is to enhance food safety, tracking and traceability in China.

Blockchain technology is a distributed digital ledger technology that uses cryptography and timestamps to provide a permanent record of various types of transactions. This technology powers Bitcoin, and the project plans to use it to achieve greater transparency across the food supply chain.

The original four alliance members are working together to create a standards-based method for collecting data concerning the origin, safety and authenticity of food using blockchain technology to provide real-time traceability throughout the supply chain. The goal is to stimulate accountability and give suppliers, regulators and consumers greater transparency into how food is handled from the farm ultimately to the consumers. This transparency has not been an easy proposition due to the complex and fragmented data sharing systems—many of which are paper based and prone to errors.

The four founding alliance members are working with supply chain providers and regulators to develop the standards, solutions and partnerships to enable a broad-based food safety ecosystem in China. IBM will provide its IBM Blockchain Platform and expertise, while Tsinghua University will act as a technical advisor, sharing its expertise in the key technologies and the Chinese food safety ecosystem.

Walmart, instrumental in developing a produce traceability initiative in 2013, works closely with suppliers, regulators, industry partners and the research community around the world. The company has invested heavily in food safety research in China through the Walmart Food Safety and Collaboration Center. The retailer has promoted food safety through its own supplier network, as well as working with JD, which has broad experience in food supply chain management in China. Walmart and JD have been able to leverage JD’s expertise in the application of AI, blockchain, big data and other new technologies designed to protect consumers.


What is Blockchain?

Blockchain is ideally suited to help address food safety and supply chain issues, as it provides a trusted environment for all transactions among growers, suppliers, processors, distributors, retailers, regulators and consumers—any of which can permit access to information regarding the origin and state of food for their transactions.

“There is a real gap in being able to look across the food ecosystem and provide an end-to-end traceability view,” says Bridget van Kralingen, senior vice president, IBM Industry Platforms.

Blockchain is an open-source digital technology, which uses a distributed ledger for recording and verifying transactions. The Linux Foundation, to which IBM contributed thousands of lines of its codebase and corresponding intellectual property, has been a major innovator in open-source blockchain technology. The distributed ledger is a permanent, secure tool that makes it easier to create cost-effective business networks without requiring a centralized point of control. With distributed ledgers, virtually anything of value can be tracked and traded. For example, it allows securities to be settled in minutes instead of days.

When IBM was choosing what it wanted to support as an open blockchain standard, the Linux Foundation’s ledger approach made sense to the company.

“We worked with the Linux Foundation and several companies in helping to kick off the Hyperledger Project,” says van Kralingen. “By using blockchain technology, we’re making data immutable. You can’t go back and change it. You can update it, but everybody has to agree to each change. So, you’re giving people back visibility—that confidence, that immutability of the information.”

What kind of traceback improvements can be expected?

“The public information is the pilot we did with Walmart around mangoes earlier,” says van Kralingen.

Using traditional methods to discover the origin of a shipment of mangoes , it took six days, 18 hours and 26 minutes to get that information—and that is among the better traceback results in the industry. When the traceback was run from the blockchain system, it took two seconds, and there was infinite traceability (original producer, every processor and storage facility and the transit steps as well).

For a full-length interview with van Kralingen on blockchain technology, read on Food Engineering’s website, “Exclusive Interview with IBM’s Bridget van Kralingen, senior vice president, IBM Industry Platforms.”

KEYWORDS: Blockchain china food defense supply chain management track and trace

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • Global Organic Food & Beverage Market to Grow

    Global Organic Food & Beverage Market to Grow

    With a CAGR of 12.07%, Bonafide Research estimates this...
    People & Industry News
  • skilled MEP worker

    Predicting Food and Beverage Manufacturing Trends for 2024

    The two words that should be kept in mind are labor and...
    Automation
    By: Derrick Teal
  • cleaning and sanitation

    The basics of cleaning and sanitation in food plants

    Sanitation maintains or restores a state of cleanliness...
    Cleaning | Sanitation
    By: Richard F. Stier
close

1 COMPLIMENTARY ARTICLE(S) LEFT

Loader

Already a Registered User? Sign in now.

Subscribe For Free!
  • eMagazine
  • eNewsletter
  • Online Registration
  • Manage My Preferences
  • Customer Service

Food Plant Openings and Expansions May 2025

Food Plant Openings and Expansions May 2025

OT Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities in Food Manufacturing Facilities

OT Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities in Food Manufacturing Facilities

Understanding Impacts of OT Cybersecurity Events in Food Manufacturing

Understanding Impacts of OT Cybersecurity Events in Food Manufacturing

Food Plant Openings and Expansions April 2025

Food Plant Openings and Expansions April 2025

More Videos

Popular Stories

FMTE Formed by Four Food Manufacturing Companies

Coalition Unites Europe’s Food Manufacturing Technologies and Equipment Sector

Kraft Heinz DeKalb Distribution Center Rendering

Kraft Heinz Upgrades U.S. Manufacturing Facilities

Sanitation worker spraying water

Fighting the Foodborne Bacteria War with Cleaning and Sanitation

CHECK OUT OUR NEW ESSENTIAL TOPICS

Alternative ProteinAutomationCleaning/SanitationFabulous Food Plants

Food SafetyMaintenance StrategiesOEE

PackagingSustainability

Events

June 17, 2025

Refrigerated & Frozen Foods’ State of the Cold Chain

Kelley Rodriguez, Editor in Chief of Refrigerated & Frozen Foods, will be joined in this 60-minute webinar by industry experts to help unpack the latest research.

January 1, 2030

Webinar Sponsorship Information

For webinar sponsorship information, visit www.bnpevents.com/webinars or email webinars@bnpmedia.com.

View All Submit An Event

Products

Recent Advances in Ready-to-Eat Food Technology

Recent Advances in Ready-to-Eat Food Technology

See More Products

Plant of the Year

Related Articles

  • Walmart

    Walmart to invest $25M in food safety in China

    See More
  • Exports to China must comply with new restrictions

    Fears over food safety on the rise in China

    See More
  • Food safety specialists gather in Beijing for GFSI Focus Day China

    Food safety specialists gather in Beijing for GFSI Focus Day China

    See More

Related Products

See More Products
  • Functionalized_Carbohydrate.gif

    Functionalizing Carbohydrates for Food Applications

See More Products
×

Elevate your expertise in food engineering with unparalleled insights and connections.

Get the latest industry updates tailored your way.

JOIN TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Food Master
    • Store
    • Want More
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing

Food Engineering logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Food Engineering logo
  • NEWS
    • Latest Headlines
    • Manufacturing News
    • People & Industry News
    • Plant Openings
    • Recalls
    • Regulatory Watch
    • Supplier News
  • PRODUCTS
    • New Plant Products
    • New Retail Products
  • TOPICS
    • Alternative Protein
    • Automation
    • Cannabis
    • Cleaning | Sanitation
    • Fabulous Food Plants
    • Food Safety
    • Maintenance Strategies
    • OEE
    • Packaging
    • Sustainability
    • More
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Plant Construction Survey
    • Plant of the Year
    • Sustainable Plant of the Year
    • State of Food Manufacturing
    • Top 100 Food & Beverage Companies
  • MEDIA
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • FOOD MASTER
  • EVENTS
    • Food Automation & Manufacturing Symposium and Expo
    • Industry Events
  • RESOURCES
    • eNewsletter
    • Custom Content & Marketing Services
    • FE Store
    • Government Links
    • Industry Associations
    • Market Research
    • Classified Ads
  • EMAGAZINE
    • eMagazine
    • Archive Issue
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!