IBM keeps on proving that blockchain technology is here to stay. The company, which has heavily invested in the development of the technology to provide a platform capable of tracking all processes in the supply chain of products, is announcing a new partnership with different industries to help promote food safety at all levels. The latest one to be added to IBM’s platform is Raw Seafoods Inc., a Massachusetts firm that specializes in seafood.
According to the announcement, both companies will begin by tracking the supply chain in scallops. IBM is working with a fleet of scallop boats out of New Bedford, Massachusetts, to test the platform by sharing data about catches, enabling all authorized parties to view the supply chain in real-time, knowing where and when the catch of scallops happened. According to IBM:
The platform will also track when the boat landed port side, and when each scallop lot was hand graded, selected, packed and shipped to its final destination.
The platform will also include videos and pictures of the process. Furthermore, the platform aims to be as easy to access as possible, by simply clicking a node to see where the scallops are at any given point, from the boat to the market. Rajendra Rao, general manager of IBM Food Trust commented on the partnership saying:
Traditionally, tracing the origin of a given food could take days, if it was possible at all, especially for wild-caught sea scallops. By reducing that time frame to a matter of seconds, we’re able to solve three of the core consumer concerns that deter them from enjoying seafood: safety, sustainability and authenticity.
Both companies also plan to expand to other products, with Raw Seafood claiming it plans to develop its own app directly connected to IBM’s platform, enabling consumers at restaurants or supermarkets to simply scan a QR code on the menu or the product to get detailed information about the scallops before they actually get it.
