presents:

From farm to table: traceability with blockchain and IoT

Blockchain technology gained fame in finance and has consolidated itself as a digital authentication tool for several industries.It didn't take long for the food industry to benefit from this technology, which gives each record a unique identification that is easily verifiable and therefore reliable and transparent.

With the expansion of fast internet access, the evolution of cloud computing, and the decreasing costs of the Internet of Things (IoT)—network communication between software and machines present in our daily lives—it's now feasible to securely collect and transmit data from food cultivation up to the consumer's hands, throughout the entire logistics chain, including processing, storage, distribution, and points of sale.

The combination of these ingredients is the recipe for a food industry that is reliable and traceable from end to end, not only for those who grow and manufacture food, but also for those who market, cook, and enjoy it.

Without traceability, things get complicated

The lack of traceability in the food and beverage industry hinders quality control and the detection of potential contaminants and counterfeits, resulting in serious damages. This could have an impact on food safety, brand reputation, and operating costs. Here are some examples:

15%

15% of food and beverages sold are counterfeit.*

Claims about wrong weight, relabeling of expired food, or labeling of regular food as organic.

0 out of 0 people

get sick every year from food or beverage contamination.

0,000 people

die every year from food-borne diseases.

56% of food and beverage companies suffer at least one recall per year.

€9,5 million

is the average cost of a recall in the food and beverage industry.

€50 a €60 million

is the impact of each recall on sales and reputation.

70% would switch brands after a negative experience.

Sources: World Health Organization (WHO) Press Release on the United Nations World Food Safety Day, 6/2019
Joint study by the Food Marketing Institute, the Association of Food, Beverage and Consumer Product Companies (GMA), and Deloitte, 1/2016
Capturing Recall Costs, GMA White Paper, 2/2011
The Harris Poll, 2/2014
UK Food Standards Agency (FSA), 2016

How to ensure real traceability in the food chain with sensors and blockchain

Siemens’ cloud-based IoT operating system – Insights Hub – collects data throughout the whole supply chain, with blockchain applications validating and authenticating the entered information.

The system also allows companies to filter what may or may not be viewed by those who access the database. Therefore, confidential data is protected, and critical information is only available to those who perform specific roles in the supply chain.

Data collected at farms, factories, and during distribution and sale – including information about the activity of the equipment operating in those environments—is collected, packaged, and sent via the cloud to the Insights Hub database.

All links in the chain benefit from holding this information. From producers, who optimize the use of energy resources to maximize production and improve the quality of their crops, to sellers, who offer products with certified origins and lower carbon footprints—since emissions are minimized throughout the process, including distribution and storage, thanks to the collected and processed data. Finally, consumers are satisfied with the food and the social and environmental responsibility involved in its production.

Diego Cadete

head of the Food and Beverages Vertical at Siemens Brazil.

“Siemens contributes to the food industry with solutions from farm to table. Our goal is to understand the challenges of agricultural production, such as traceability, efficiency, and industrial performance, and help develop each of those stages with state-of-the-art technology.”

Food with an ID – food with verified digital identification

For you to get an idea of the level of detail of the information collected, stored, and shared throughout the food production process, consider orange juice. With unrestricted access to traceability systems like Insights Hub, it would be possible to know the origin of each and every orange that makes up your favorite juice.

It's as if everything we eat had an ID, a social security number, which proves the origin of the food and shows "who" it is.

Sensors in the orchards collect information about temperature, humidity, soil composition, CO₂ retention, etc. This data influences irrigation, fertilization, and other operations that can even be automated by robots or autonomous vehicles.
Cameras, drones, and collecting robots scan each tree, identifying the fruits that are in ideal conditions for harvesting, optimizing the maturation of each one and improving the end quality of the fruit and the products derived from it.
Each harvested batch receives a label, a blockchain-authenticated identification containing information on variety, quantity, time of harvest, etc. From this point on, it's fully traceable.
At each stage of transportation and storage, sensors also collect information about temperature and humidity, generating more data blocks about the fruits. If they undergo any procedure—for instance, if they're washed—this information is also recorded.
Factories producing juice and other foods that use oranges as ingredients receive those batches and process or distribute the fruits. The products derived from each batch or even the unprocessed packages are also cataloged—keeping the origin information about the fruits—, thus also becoming identifiable and traceable.
Machinery is also equipped with IoT sensors Those devices generate information about food processing and the mechanical activity involved.

The data supports useful performance reports for preventive maintenance of equipment throughout the entire chain, as well as information on power and water consumption, and the carbon footprint of each production stage.
At each stage of transportation, handling, or storage, product batches have their origin checked and their status and destination updated and reauthenticated. All this movement information is also shared and stored via the cloud, generating a map with the product's entire journey from farm to table.
Digital solutions allow full product traceability up to the end consumer, through blockchain and QR codes, which guarantees the origin, authenticity, and food safety of the ingredients.

Daniel Cassimiro

Consultant for Food and Beverages at Siemens Brazil.

“The more efficient the food industry is, the less resources it uses. So, when we combine automation, sensors, artificial intelligence, cloud computing…All this digitalization gives us the ability to measure our CO₂ footprint at every step and work to reduce it.”

Information at hand – for consumers and others involved with the food

Part of this multitude of data collected throughout the production chain is available to end consumers, letting them know everything from the origin of the raw materials up to the path they took to the meal.

Some brands provide costumers with labels and QR Codes on the packaging containing traceability information. Throughout the chain, QR Codes and identification labels in siemens-containers, crates, and other storage media provide valuable information to other participants in the food production, distribution, and marketing process.

First stop

For those who process food or receive raw materials for manufacturing, having information on where and under what conditions their ingredients were produced is essential.

Travel itinerary

For supermarkets and stores, it's important to have in-depth information about where and when the food they sell has been stored until it reaches the points of sale. The data can show, for instance, whether the product has been kept at the proper temperature throughout transportation.

Guarantee of origin

There are labels that guarantee the origin, authenticity, and food safety of the ingredients, ensuring that they meet certain criteria, as is the case with organic products. Traceability can also ensure that food comes from areas suitable for cultivation, serving as a tool for protecting conservation areas.